


Let Me Sleep

by MyStarShine



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, brief internalized homophobia, mild sexuality crisis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-21
Updated: 2014-08-05
Packaged: 2018-01-13 06:55:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 66,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1216795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyStarShine/pseuds/MyStarShine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasuke knows he's strange, because it isn't normal to dream so often of someone you've never met. He fights to make his dreams lucid because it's this insanity that keeps him sane. Even when you're meant for no other person, things rarely fall into place perfectly, but Sasuke's never been a quitter.</p><p>(This fic has been abandoned. I'm finding it to mentally draining to continue writing it. Some things hit too close to home. The first chapter is sufficient as a stand alone, but don't go into reading this thinking the conclusion will ever come, I'm sorry.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: AU, Angst, Noncon (not Sasunaru), Slash/Yaoi, H/C, Language, Violence  
> Disclaimer: Anything even remotely familiar does no belong to me. I write for pleasure, never for profit.
> 
> This first part may be read as a oneshot if you don't wish to continue. I will be updating chapters on a regular basis should my life not interfere.  
> Later chapters of this fiction is based a lot on introspection, some critique on social constructs, and explores the psychological aftermath of abnormal beginnings and trauma. I don't share the opinion of all characters, I do hope you will take that into consideration.

 

Sasuke dreams all his life about someone who has to be important. At first all he sees are impressions, warm sunny days with echoes of laughter. He dreams of gross and disturbing things like ramen flavoured ice cream and the first night he wakes he knows how it feels to hold a toad in his hand. That's ridiculous, because Sasuke hates to get dirty, he'd never touch a toad, because they're gross and it's not very Uchiha like. Soon he begins to hear a voice, it's more than just laughter. It talks about a something named Kurama, and when Sasuke asks his dad about it he just grunts and ignores Sasuke and he grows angry. So he asks his brother, but even the great genius Itachi knows nothing about whatever it is he sees when he closes his eyes at night.

Most nights he dreams in vivid detail only to wake in the morning with pathetic imitations of the wonders he has seen. When he sits up in bed he's often disappointed at his lack of recollection and he sits there until Itachi comes to rouse him while he's trying to remember what that warm feeling in his chest came from.

Sasuke is only six when he dreams of the young blonde boy he keeps hearing. He thinks nothing of it, as he watches the young boy clad in what were once bright clothes, but have been dulled by dust and dirt. The young boy spends his time climbing up rocky inclines and sliding down muddy hills. He has a similar dream two nights later, and even at his young age he wonders if that's normal to be seeing the boy swinging happily between the hands of his parents. His face is soft and round, still like his mother's but you couldn't look at his dad and not see the resemblance. Sasuke wants to talk to them, but they make their way into their house before Sasuke can say anything, and he wakes and he wonders why the boy's face is fuzzy, and why his parents don't treat him the same way.

He asks his mama about the blonde boy and she tells him the story of the sand man and how he helps you depart the land of slumber on the tail of golden dust. Sasuke thinks his mama has to be crazy, because the boy is anything but soothing. He laughs so loud, he's seen the boy in a kitchen banging pots and pans so loud that his mother yells at him, pleading for him to stop. When she makes him, he cries just as loud as the kitchenware's clangs. He decides he doesn't like this boy, and when he's forced into his pyjamas and climbs into bed he waits until the lights have gone off. He takes out a flashlight from the living room and reads instead, because anything is better than dreaming of high pitched squeals of laughter as the boy's dad lifts him high above his head or playfully tickles him until he's hiccupping.

He doesn't know what time that he falls asleep, but when he wakes in his odd dream world. He doesn't see the boy, and he's glad. His joy is short lived when he sees where he is. He's in the middle of the woods, it's large and twisted like some sort of nightmarish rain forest. The tall tree trunks are twisted and black, their leaves are grays, purples and reds and other colours he doesn't know. If he gets out, he wants to ask Itachi to teach him the names. He thinks about staying in one spot, but his dad tells him that if something feels wrong you run, you find any way out. He wonders if it's the same as when you're lost, and he chooses to run. The terrain is impossible, the hills are craggy and the roots of the trees are obstructing. He trips, stumbles and falls and scrapes his knee, but now isn't the time to cry like a baby. He has to be strong, like a big boy, like his brother. Itachi would never cry, he'd find a way out and Sasuke had to be just like him, just like his dad and every Uchiha before him. That's what Uchiha do, they fix things any way they can and they act very serious when they do it. That much Sasuke knows.

He goes for hours before he sees a light and when he pushes through the last of the bushes his eyes are assaulted with bright colours. He's fallen to the ground, and when he looks up he sees a pair of scarred knees. As he continues he sees dark shorts and an orange shirt and a pudgy tanned face staring at him.

The boy seems wary, he steps back and hides behind the trunk of a tree smoothly twisted in greens and aqua, like Sasuke's the scary one. Sasuke's not the one wearing that horrifying orange in an equally horrifying bright world. "Who are you?" He recognizes the voice. He stares into bright blue eyes for the first time and his own eyes widen. He finally knows what the boy looks like. "It's Sas'ke I'nn't?"

"Wh…No, it's Sasuke, and how do you know?" Sasuke is angry now at his lack of privacy because Uchiha like to be by themselves. When the boy shrugs he just grows angrier. "It's rude to talk to people without introducing yourself."

The boy points to his nose and after looking around he decides it's okay. "I'm Naruto!" There's a grin on his face so wide that Sasuke isn't sure if it's healthy. "Why are you here?" This kid was something else, because he was invading Sasuke's dreams and acts like he's the stranger.

"I wasn't going to stay in there!" He points behind him and when he turns it's nothing but dark with a scary purple glow in the back. Maybe it's more like mauve, he thinks he remembers Itachi teaching him that one.

"I heard there's a raven in there that pecks your eyes out," Naruto says and almost immediately changes the subject. "I was just esplor'n and I guess I went too far. But that's okay! I guess I just have to save you," his dirty hand wraps around Sasuke's and he tugs at him, "This way, it's safe over here!" he says with laughter, but as their running the wood of yellows, greens, blues, and oranges begins to fade into blackness and Sasuke wakes up in his bed.

"Why are you dreaming about fishcakes?" his brother is hovering over his bed. Sasuke rubs at his eyes and shakes his head.

"Was not," He mutters.

"You said Naruto, I heard you. Are you trading away your healthy lunch at school for that gross stuff?"

Sasuke blinks, Itachi would tell on him if he believed that. "No!" he protests.

"Mom says get up and brush your teeth. I'm not going to be late because of you," Itachi says and Sasuke obeys because he doesn't want to be trouble to his big brother because then who will teach him all of those colours he saw?

Sasuke wants to know who the other boy is, so when naptime comes at school he doesn't protest. He doesn't somehow convince his teacher to let him read books in the corner silently. He lays his head down and sleeps. It doesn't work, instead his dreams are as unobtainable as they had been prior to last night. Instead he dreams of two strangers standing face to face, their height almost perfectly matched. The look in their eyes is a whirlwind of flame that radiates, scorches, crackles, and eventually consumes everything in an inferno. Nothing is exempt, not the leaves around them or the stone until the blaze becomes deafening. Sasuke doesn't want to be asleep anymore, because he doesn't need to know what burning flesh smells like, or the sounds of people crying out their last breath a plea for life…but as Sasuke continues to watch, too enamored to tear his eyes away he realizes he can still see the two standing, unmoving, unrelenting and he hears no more because he's awake. He doesn't want to dream like that anymore, but he thinks about his brother and what he might do. That night he decides to be brave, and instead of fruitlessly asking to sleep nestled between his parents, he closes his eyes and rests.

He dreams of sunshine and strange weapons he's only ever seen in those strange movies advertised on TV. Then he's walking on water but his feet are too large and the wind that envelops him is too turbulent to be as calming as it is…He doesn't see Naruto again until his seventh birthday.

"I thought you were gone for good…" Naruto says from the spot he occupies in the small turquoise tree. Itachi taught him that colour too, but the leaves are a specific shade of green, like jade. Sasuke taught himself that one. "I tried to save you then you ran away!" He pouts as he twists around the tree, climbing until his feet thud against the dirt. "You're not the raven are you?"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asks, annoyed because obviously he's a person, he's a boy. His dad's name is Fugaku, his mama's name is Mikoto and his big brother Itachi is the smartest person he knows. How could a Raven have a family?

"I hear this…weird noise whenever you show up," He says and ducks behind a tree. Sasuke hears his feet moving and he doesn't want to lose the boy, so he follows after. He realizes that the background of this world is the same colour as Naruto's hair, and as they walk the colour of the trees move with them like a kaleidoscope. This is much prettier though, much better than that forest that has all those burgundies, maroons and dusty colours. "Like…this," And the boy puckers his lips and whistles. Knocking, clicking, and strange bell noises sound…Sasuke thought they could only caw.

"How did you do that?" Sasuke asks, his hands close around Naruto's wrist and the blonde vanishes in a prism of tropical colours.

Sasuke asks Itachi to teach him about ravens next, but he's too busy studying about those college places that smart people go to even though he's only 12. He tries to ask his dad, but he's told that he can look it up himself, because that's what Itachi would do. His dad is right, Sasuke should have thought of that. He finds a book on Ravens at the school library, but it's just about how the dumb raven swallowed something. It's not very helpful.

When he sleeps he sees those colours again and he breathes a sigh of relief, because the last time he lost the yellow haired boy he couldn't find him for a year.

"I knew you were here!" Naruto says and he reaches for Sasuke but he doesn't let him.

"Wait! You can't touch me!" He says and he swings around one of the trees to stay out of the other boy's hands.

"What? You're crazy, you need to come this way. I heard the raven again. He'll get our eyes," he says and reaches for Sasuke again.

"No! Every time you touch me this place goes away!" Naruto stops and thinks hard before he nods.

"Really? Okay…but you have to come with me, it's this way," he said and he took off. Sasuke has to run as fast as he can not to get left behind in a world of yellow. When they stop they're in a dome of trees with leaves of teal and bushes of light pinks and blues. He wonders if Itachi will help him learn those ones too, because they're just colours it wouldn't take too much time. "We're safe now, Kurama will be here soon. He can keep us safe," Naruto smiles and the place grows warmer.

"How did you make that bird noise?" Sasuke asks before he forgets. He sits down with the weird boy as he whistles again and sounds like a budgie. There's one in his school classroom.

"Because this is mine," he said and he lies back, staring up at the leaves that hide that yellow sky.

"I don't get it," Sasuke said, annoyed because he's sure he's smarter than the other boy and this is his dream, not Naruto's. He's the smartest in the class; he can name more colours and can do his own math in his own journal where the other kids still need help.

"This place, it does what I want. Look at this," his voice sounds daring and he points up to the canopy of leaves. Sasuke looks up and when he does the center of their dome swirls out of existence and instead there's a bright blue sky, like when he's not dreaming.

"How did you do that?"

"I dunno…I guess I just think and it has to listen," He shrugs as the clouds slowly creep across the sky.

"And you make Kurama keep you safe?" Sasuke can't take his eyes off the sky. "Make it red," He tells Naruto.

"It's not yours! I like it blue!" Naruto gets angry. "What? No, you can't tell Kurama what to do…well my mommy can, but tha's because Kurama's hers when I'm a baby."

"You didn't say that right…" Sasuke points out.

"Yeah I did! It's my place, its right if I say so!" he sticks his tongue out at Sasuke before he jumps up and begins to climb one of the trees and the sky goes orange.

"You're dumb," He says to himself before he looks around. "What's Kurama?" and there's an odd swooping chatter before something moves behind one of the bushes.

"That's Kurama," Naruto points and he jumps down from an impossible height, but the ground just bounces when he lands. "When I'm out of this place, he's just a doggy, but whenever I'm here he turns into that."

There's a dumb grin on the boy's face as a fox jumps out into their clearing. Sasuke's scared because wild animals are dangerous, but the fox just lies down and watches him and when he scoots closer to Naruto the fox growls and makes a really nasty face.

"No Kurama!" Naruto wags his fingers "Tha's just Sas'k" He says but before Sasuke can correct him he feels the boy slam against his shoulder. "Look out!" and before his eyes open he sees a raven swooping for him while Kurama springs into action and he's awake again.

Seeing Naruto is much easier after that, in fact he sees him as much as twice a month. He doesn't argue with his mama anymore when he has to go to sleep until Itachi starts making fun of how much of a good little boy he is…Sasuke protests the next night.

When they meet the colours are usually the same, but he notices that when Naruto's upset the colours grow hot instead of warm, and when he's sad they turn into muddy colours so he knows when he sees them that he needs to be careful. It's fine though, because Naruto is almost always happy.

So when he is happy, they run around Naruto's yellow forest and Sasuke asks Naruto to make funny animal noises and even begins to teach Naruto about animals that aren't dogs and cats and that gerbil that he says is in his classroom. They jump from the trees and after Naruto starts learning more they even get to see other animals other than that rude nasty Kurama who seems to hate him even though the worst thing he's ever done to Naruto was call him dumb. He thinks he's made up for it by now, because they're friends. It's much more fun than going to school and having Karin bother him, or having Juugo get all in his personal bubble when he just wants to be quiet. Naruto lets him be quiet when he wants to and is fun when he's tired of the quiet and that's the best.

"Sometimes…I think the raven is jealous…" Naruto says as they lay in a soft patch of blue grass.

"Of what?" Sasuke asks.

"Of us, because we've got each other and it's all alone. I also think that it's sad it has red eyes, I wouldn't want that because it's scary. Like those movies big kids like to watch, so he tries to steal ours because we're normal," He rolls onto his stomach and uses a stick to poke at Sasuke's face and Sasuke is too lazy to even get mad at the other boy.

"That's silly, he's probably hungry if he's the only animal on that side of the woods," Sasuke thinks it's silly because he isn't normal, his brother always says so and his dad won't pay attention to him like he does Itachi, he figures it's because he's strange so the raven wouldn't want his eyes.

"But…he still wants our eyes and that's bad," He says before he pokes Sasuke again and then begins to pester Kurama who is lying between them, making sure Sasuke doesn't get too close. Sasuke won't though, because whenever they touch this world disappears and Sasuke has to go back to being ignored or being picked on by his brother because he has an imaginary friend that's a fishcake. That's why he can't tell anyone about Naruto.

He dreams and suddenly he knows just why people complain about the smell of wet dogs, and that if you try and slide all the way down a long and steep banister that you're probably going to fall and have to go to the hospital. When he wakes from that one he's crying, but he lies and tells his mama that it was a nightmare about a raven stealing his eyes.

As they grow older, Sasuke grows more and more afraid that if he tells anyone about Naruto that they'll take him away. He knows he isn't normal, because it's not normal to dream of someone you haven't met and that you dream about them all the time. He doesn't care if Naruto is real or not, at this point it's this insanity that keeps him sane.

When they're eight, Naruto is the closest thing Sasuke has to a best friend, and the closest thing he'll ever have to one. They do everything together as Sasuke dreams. Naruto convinces him to play games he'd never play for real and it's okay because at the end they flop down in the soft grass and just talk about dumb things like the guinea pig in Naruto's new class and how Itachi tells Sasuke all this new stuff. Naruto's really fun when he isn't super loud.

One day Sasuke dreams and their world is dark and he can't find his friend anywhere. He spends his entire sleep searching everywhere but he can't finish because their world is bigger than it's ever been. It isn't just yellow nothingness when Naruto isn't around, now it's muddy colours like crimson, taupe, ultramarine, and all those other colours he's learned since they met. He wakes before he finds anything and he's worried all day. He can't stop worrying until his mama takes him and Itachi to the doctor for a checkup. Even with his lollipop he's too bored to stay awake, so he sleeps and he finds Naruto when he least expects it.

They never meet when he naps, so seeing Naruto curled up under an ugly looking tree with no yellow or orange at all, he's worried. When he walks closer Kurama isn't there to growl at him and he notices that his friend is crying.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asks after they just sit there super quiet except for Naruto's crying.

"They left me all alone and they didn't even let Kurama stay with me," Sasuke knows who he's talking about and now knows exactly why he can get this close to Naruto.

"Why did they leave?" Sasuke gets as close as he can without touching Naruto and hates this place because it won't let him. All he really wants to do is give him a hug.

"I'm scared…they said they aren't coming back," He hiccups as he cries. "I don't want to wake up Sas'ke. I don't have a family anymore."

"I'll be your family then," Sasuke gives in, because Naruto needs a hug, and if Naruto is real he hates everything…and if he isn't then he hates himself for doing this to his friend. The second his arms wrap around the other boy he's shaken awake by his big brother Itachi. He instantly makes fun of him for crying because he was dreaming about a fishcake. It's the first time that Sasuke ever gets punished for hitting his brother, and pulling his hair, and calling him names. He's never done it before, and even though Itachi is so much bigger than him he made sure he didn't give up until his mama pulled him away.

He's sent to his room when he gets home and his dad tells him he'll deal with him later. So Sasuke climbs onto his bed, because Naruto needs him. When he dreams, he sees a girl that looks like cotton candy and one eyed man who looks at him bored like his dad. He doesn't like either of them once he wakes, because they aren't who he wants to see.

Itachi spends all his spare time, when he's not studying for tests at school to make Sasuke's life a living hell. His big brother doesn't know that it's hard to make what he feels worse, because it's been over a week since he's seen Naruto.

His mind goes silent for four years, and though he knows his mom loves him and Itachi has given up fighting with him and goes back to being something like a brother he's never felt so alone. All he has are these imprints and dreams with versions of himself he never wants to see come true, because shoving his arm through Naruto's chest would never cross his mind willingly.

His dad starts talking to him about what he should do after he graduates. It's really the first time that his dad has ever paid any attention to him unless he had to. He works as the chief of police in their community and is a well-respected man. It's safe to assume that 12 year old Sasuke is being pushed and guided toward a career in law or law enforcement. Sasuke starts to think that his dad just doesn't know how to talk to children. Things at school are fine, though his percentages are never quite as high as Itachi's were when he was Sasuke's age, he's almost always ranked first in his class. If it's enough to make his dad pay attention to him, he's okay with that. His mom continues as she always does, she takes care of him even when he doesn't want her to and he knows she loves him. His friends aren't really what he calls friends. Even though he was just a brat when he knew Naruto, they had tons of fun, which is far more than he can say of Karin constantly volunteering the loudest to be his partner for school projects, or trying to convince him to walk home with her. Juugo and Suigetsu aren't much better, but being convinced to get into trouble is much better than Karin pretending to fall into him so he goes with it. All of it combined doesn't compare to what he had, and he knows that it would sound crazy to anyone else, so he continues to keep quiet.

He starts to dream of a hand in his holding tightly and a large golden retriever and like so many dreams he's had he finds himself changed for each one. He knows that he hates the taste of Ramen but can tolerate it as long as it's miso. His parents have never let him eat it. He knows that even though he hates really sweet things that it takes around 1284 licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop, he knows what it's like to hold a toad in his hands and how heavy your clothes are when you walk all the way home in the pouring rain. He knows how it feels to walk completely vertical and how it is to tear through the trees at impossible speeds. He's tested the theory, he's caught a few toads by the time he's 12 and knows that when he dreams it's at least a little bit real. Even though he keeps quiet about Naruto, there's a part of him that knows he's real too, and that he's out there somewhere but with only his first name he doesn't know how to begin finding him.

He wonders if Naruto shared his dreams, or dreamt about the kind of stuff he did. This weird fantastical ninja world he's somehow come up with in his head. It seems like something Naruto would create, not him. He also wonders that if Naruto dreams his dreams if the blonde would remember him?

Karin is especially annoying today and what makes it worse is that the other girls in the class are starting to work up the guts to talk to him too. Suigetsu tries to pick a fight with him over it, but Itachi teaches him more than colours now. With them constantly fighting as they grew up until recently he learned a thing or two, one of them was knowing when to duck because no matter how lightly Itachi hits, it's annoying to be smacked in the back of the head. Another is knowing how to get out of a pin, because he hates being tickled and Itachi used to pin him to do that too. The things his brother teaches him, purposely or not, are all valuable in knocking Suigetsu to the ground and he doesn't try it again. It lands him a brief suspension from school all because that annoying guy would like the attention. As far as Sasuke's concerned, he can have it all. His father screams at him after school, or at least as much as Uchiha Fugaku can scream. They sit down face to face and as his father lectures him his body grows more and more tense and it ends with him telling Sasuke in an even voice to go to his room. Sasuke listens, because he wants to find his way there before Itachi gets back from school. Even though they're almost past their years of animosity, the second Itachi knows about his suspension it will open up another perfect window in Sasuke's life to hear about how much of a failed Uchiha he is.

So Sasuke trudges up to his room, tosses his bag against his desk that's kept so neatly tidy before falling to his bed which is right beside it. He groans to himself and just for a moment he wishes he had given Sugietsu more than just a black eye before Juugo pulled him off of the dumbass. It's not long before his thoughts begin to dissipate and bit by bit his vision is filled with greenery. His eyes widen and he sees a forest, there's no aqua, teal, or gold, this place is completely void of cadmiums…it looks real. There are ferns and huge conifers with lush moss scaling their trunks and there's sunshine that sprinkles through the pines, the maples and the alder trees. The only thing that gives this place away is the telltale bell chirp of a raven and Sasuke's stomach drops. He finally convinces himself to move, he pushes through the ferns and ducks under the branches of huckleberry bushes and realizes that what he had considered beautiful was absolutely rugged and uninviting once you were no longer stationary.

He comes to the edge of a river, the bank is a mixture of soft sandy patches interspersed with areas of round pebbles, across the water is a large cliff with the roots of maples poking through the edges at the top and the trees themselves reach impossibly higher to the blue sky. It's what's on the bank that catches him off guard. There's Naruto with his feet in the water, leaning back and just staring up. Sasuke kicks a rock by accident and the blonde tips his head so far back that he's upside down and when their eyes meet there's recognition, but no unbelievable happiness. "I thought I heard you," he says and Sasuke's confused for a moment. Looking over his shoulder he remembers the chime of the raven and he lets out a breath.

"I'm not a bird," Sasuke says as he dares to get closer.

"You're not a lot of things," Naruto says as he looks back up at the sky, his arms folding under his head. Sasuke can't help but think that 'real' is one of those things that Naruto thinks he's not…which is ridiculous, because Sasuke's really grounded right now and really not wanting to deal with his brother. He wonders if that's how he found this place, because he needed an escape. Maybe not, because he would have found Naruto a lot sooner because Itachi had made his life hell since he turned eight.

"I'll tell you what I am," he sits down beside the other boy and wants to ask why he's been hiding. "Confused."

Naruto lets out a laugh and flicks a pebble at Sasuke. It doesn't hurt when it hits him and when he looks down it's a tuft of cotton instead. "Mr. Sannin just moved us back to this side of the planet," Naruto explains and it's the first hint that he gets that maybe Naruto does breathe the air of the living.

"Is that your last name?"

"Hell no!" Naruto growls and he sits up with a rock in hand and chucks it across the river with ease. "If that freak could reproduce the world would be doomed!"

"Who is he then?" Naruto grows quiet and Sasuke gets the feeling that even though he's been trying to avoid asking what happened to Naruto that he asked it in a different way.

"He adopted me after my parents died," He mutters. "I'd much rather stay with that pervert Kakashi but he doesn't want me," he throws another rock and there's dust from the clay cliff when it hits.

It's been four years and even though they aren't talking about kiddy things he feels just as close to the blonde as he did back then, because sometimes friendship is enduring the hard things too. "I'm sorry," He doesn't want to ask who Kakashi is because the guy's an idiot if he really doesn't want Naruto. Sasuke blinks when the thought crosses his mind, because that was weirdly personal and he pushes it to the back of his head.

"Whatever, I'm waiting until the creep drops dead. I'm going to shit on his grave," Naruto snickers to himself.

"That's gross," Sasuke doesn't know if he's talking about this Sannin or if he's talking about Kakashi.

"Your face is gross!" Naruto says before Sasuke can even finish and he just smirks, because if the girls in his school say anything, it's the exact opposite.

"You're just jealous moron, my face is amazing," Sasuke says on the trail of that thought.

"What did you call me? Say that again to my face, jerk! I'll show you," Naruto says and he's right in Sasuke's face. Naruto's an entirely different kind of loud now, he's not sure how he feels about that.

"Doubt it," Sasuke says, his smirk only grows and before he knows it there's a flash of warmth at his chest as Naruto tackles him before the image of the blonde splits like splatters of paint before he hears his mom's voice calling him for dinner.

His eyes are wide as he stares at the ceiling and he wonders if he just did a stupid thing and chased Naruto away again. He sure as hell hopes not, because he can't handle another four years without seeing him. He realizes how weird that sounds and tries to push it to the back of his head too before he sits up and tries to be glad that at least his dad is letting him eat dinner. Itachi makes snide comments about him all night, even though they're heavily veiled to hide them from their parents, he hears them. It's after dinner that Itachi corners him and actually asks what's going on and if he needs help at school. It's weird, and he wonders if today was just a strange turning point in his life where nothing would ever be the same. The girls became more annoying, Suigetsu found some balls to attack him, Itachi was showing genuine concern, and Naruto had finally come back to him…his dreams…no, Naruto had finally turned up again. He shakes his head and pushes the thought away and simply answers, because Suigetsu isn't anything he can't handle.

He sleeps and is left with a dream of lips pressing to his. All it is, is a feeling. He can't see who it is and he can't tell, all he knows is that at 12 it feels strangely nice. When he wakes he feels warm throughout his chest but it's quickly gone because as soon as his dad hears him moving around he's set to work on cleaning out the garage. He doesn't get why his dad has all these ancient looking scrolls tucked away, especially in some place as damp as the car port.

He flops down onto his bed exhausted and finds himself back in the forest. He's lying on his stomach on the sandy beach. He's about to get up when he hears Naruto.

"You keep saying you aren't a bird but I just heard it again," Naruto is in the water this time, his hair is plastered around his face before he climbs out. His hands are at his sides and he looks so self-important.

"That's fascinating," Sasuke rolls his eyes.

"Just like my face," He grins before he jumps back into the water, the drop off at the bank is a steep one apparently, or Naruto is just willing it that way.

"I told you that when you touch me this place disappears," Sasuke muttered.

"That sounds dirty," Naruto snickers and before Sasuke can come up with any sort of retort he feels water slap into his face. "Guess it doesn't work with other things," He's grinning and Sasuke's glaring at him.

"You're an idiot."

"You're a bastard," The swear sounds strange on Naruto's lips, and his face pulls into an awkward expression, like he's saying it for the first time. That's all it takes though for whatever bond they have to click back into place. They explore the forest which is so much larger than it had ever been. They have strange fights where they call each other names but they're never serious. They hang out a little differently than when they were kids though, they don't jump from the tree tops and Naruto doesn't make animal noises, but he does show Sasuke that he can still make the sky green if he wants. The only thing that's different about this place is that it doesn't look like a children's book anymore…well maybe Naruto still jumps from tree tops…

He sees him on a weekly basis, sometimes even more this time and he doesn't want it to end. Even when he gets back to school and Suigetsu somehow treats him like nothing ever happened, it doesn't really matter.

Naruto tells him more than he ever as before. When they were kids, real life didn't matter until Naruto was left with nothing. Naruto says he couldn't sleep, that he was pushed around through foster homes because his dad's best friend couldn't take care of him. There's resentment in his voice at Kakashi's decision, but he can't blame him for needing to focus on going to university. He talks about the group home he's been to twice, but only ever mentions it. Mr. Sanin found him two years after his parents died, claiming that he and his siblings were old family friends. Jiraiya had died one year prior, and Tsunade was too busy with her practice to pay him any attention, but Orochimaru refused to let him be pushed from home to home. Naruto doesn't say much about him, other than calling him Mr. Sannin which Sasuke finds weird, but he doesn't press the issue and decides maybe he can tell Naruto about himself.

Naruto thinks it's super cool that he has an older brother, and even though he knew about Itachi when they were kids, he seems a little more enthralled with the idea. He tells him that they must be close, truth is that they aren't, but Itachi's trying.

"You're dreaming about homework? That's lame even for you, moron," He says as he sits down beside the moron.

"Uuuugh, shut up I just don't get it. Even now I don't get it! This place is mine so I should think it and it should come true!" He says as he yanks on his hair.

Sasuke watches him and he laughs to himself before he leans over. "Here, I'm pretty good at math," Sasuke says as he begins to take Naruto through all the necessary steps of the algebraic formulas.

The next week Naruto comes back and tells him excitedly that he passed his math test with a B which is the highest grade he's ever gotten. Naruto's a moron, but Sasuke's actually happy for him. Naruto tackles him in a hug and Sasuke's eyes stare up at the ceiling of his bedroom and he huffs because he realizes it's only 1 AM and he's on the verge of pissing his pants. When he finally manages to get back to sleep that he's traveling with his friends, but they're dressed like psychos. Suigetsu has strange teeth and a sword, the only thing that seems normal is how much Suigetsu and Karin fight.

Things start changing after a half a year in he's now 13, and he knows how to sign simple phrases in sign language. The hands are much too large to be Naruto's as he dreams and it leaves him puzzled. He knows that it also takes 1034 licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop when it took 1284 last time. He also dreams about his brother, he's crouched atop a pole and he looks like an assassin…but he's crying. He doesn't understand the anger he feels well up in him because Itachi spent all evening talking to him and telling him what teachers he'll have to watch out for when he gets to high school the next year.

Naruto tells him about how Orochimaru originally took him in. How he makes him call him Mr. Sannin, and just how strict he is. Naruto's allowed almost no time with any friends, he has to do his homework in his room, sit at the dinner table until he's done very morsel with one hour of family time before he's sent back to his room and isn't allowed out unless this guy says so.

"That's just strange," Sasuke says and he's genuinely concerned because this sounds like some sort of thrasher movie, but he says nothing because he doesn't know what to say.

"It's better than being in the home, or you know on the street," Naruto shrugs as he flops onto his back, this time they're on top of the cliff, their legs dangling over the edge, the river is several feet below them.

"I guess…but you should be careful," Sasuke tries.

"Careful for what? I can always find something to do, he lets me out on weekends if I've finished everything," He says. "At least he wants me. Kakashi won't even visit me anymore, he's too busy with his boyfriend," Naruto shrugs.

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I guess," Naruto just shrugs again like he doesn't care.

"Strange," It's just the start of his thoughts on the subject, but he tries really hard not to think about it because it's one less thing he needs to face his father about.

"I guess?" Naruto shrugs again and he sits up. "We should go swimming!" He says as he looks down. Sasuke hesitates and it's absolutely not because he's afraid of heights when he has to face them.

"Ladies first."

"You're such a jerk," Naruto mutters. "My dad always used to toss me into the river by our house," Naruto says and grows quiet. He stares at Sasuke for a long moment.

"No, keep your hands off me," Sasuke growls, he's not going over the cliff no chance in hell.

"Che, You'd just disappear anyway," Naruto 's off the edge of the cliff the next second and when he comes back up for air it's like nothing serious happened. "Come on!"

Sasuke doesn't, and over the next few months Naruto keeps trying to convince him to jump off. It's just a dream but Sasuke refuses every time. He continues to dream and he dreams of a quaint house with a well-kept garden during in between those times. He gets flashes of weird dusty rose wallpapers inside and dated furniture.

Naruto finally dares him to jump, and Sasuke refuses to back down.

"You won't do it, quit kidding yourself Sasuke!" He yells from down in the water.

"Shut up moron! You better move!" He says as he stands on the edge of the cliff and a familiar buildup of anticipation fills his chest before he finally convinces his feet to slip from the clay. Suddenly he's freefalling and he feels the tug at his stomach. His eyes close as he nears the water, but instead of slamming into it the transition is like gliding. The water is as perfect as it ever is and when he breaks the surface Naruto's jumping up and down, whooping and cheering for him.

"I thought you were too chicken shit to do it!" Naruto says before he jumps back in from the bank. There's a huge splash from his cannon ball and when he pops back up for air he lets out a laugh.

"I'm not too scared to do anything," Sasuke rolls his eyes as he floats on his back "And do you always swear like this?"

"Hell no, Mr. Sannin'd probably beat me if he ever heard me cursing," Naruto says as he too floats on his back.

They're quiet for a moment before Sasuke turns his head to look at the blonde who he wishes was as sunny as he used to be. "He doesn't…hit you does he?"

Naruto blinks, "What?" He gives Sasuke a weird stare and waits too long to answer. "Of course not."

"If you say so…" Sasuke watches as Naruto flips and swims to the shore to climb out and lay on the bank. He doesn't believe the blonde for a second…but what does he do? Does he wake and tell his father some kid he knows from some place in his head is in trouble? He follows a few minutes after and he lays on his stomach. "Do you have a cell phone?" Sasuke's had one for a long time now, but it's for emergencies only, he's almost positive his father keeps track of him via its GPS sometimes.

Naruto stares at him and raises an eyebrow. "You really think I have a cell phone? We hardly have a phone connected to the wall," He muttered.

"Right…that was a dumb question," he says quietly. "What about your home phone number?"

"I don't think he'd want anyone calling Sasuke, I'm only allowed to use the phone when I get a perfect test score," Naruto mutters and it's the last they say on the subject, but Sasuke gets the impression that it's been a long time since he could call anyone.

"I guess…" Sasuke feels defeated. He props himself up on his elbows and he watches Naruto for a long while before he feels some sort of horror well up in his gut but it doesn't stop him. He leans over and Naruto watches but doesn't pull away and it's almost no time at all before their lips meet. It's just like Sasuke remembered…remembered?

When he opens his eyes he is, of course, in his own bed and the weight of what had happened crashes around him. He can't be gay, because if he is he's almost positive his father will throw him out too…no, he isn't, he absolutely isn't. He stands and he shakes his body to loosen up his muscles and maybe shake this realization out of his body. He gets ready to school and thinks that maybe for once he doesn't have to dream tonight. He probably made Naruto uncomfortable anyway, it'd just be better if they didn't see each other.

When Sasuke goes to school he does what he can to forget about how unusually soft Naruto's lips felt against his, and the gentle build up that was between the two of them. It was just a dream, Naruto was just something in his head that he created when Itachi started ignoring him…obviously. He realizes how psycho he sounds so he tries even harder to forget. He doesn't dream for a while, not of more than that strangely perfect house with their dusty coloured objects, but when he keeps thinking back to the kiss he grows angry. Three weeks later he grabs Karin during lunch hour and he presses his lips against hers. Their teeth click, and she's too surprised then all of a sudden too enthusiastic for it to be enjoyable. He pulls back and his lip twitches…it was pathetic, and nothing like he wanted it to be. He doesn't know if it's just Karin, but he finds it's not an endeavour he wants to attempt again with anyone. Time has stopped for everyone else but Sasuke, Karin has a dazed flush on her face and the girls around them are stunned into silence. He forgets that Suigetsu told him he wants to date Karin so when he turns around he doesn't expect to be caught in the face with a solid right hook, much hardier than when they were 12. He feels the padlock on the locker behind him dig into his back and he growls and before Karin can stop them they're rolling around on the ground, fighting again until they're both forcefully separated and suspended.

He's back in front of his father with a nasty bruise on his jaw and he's tender all over, but it's all okay because he thinks he broke Suigetsu's nose. Not very good behaviour for the son of the chief of police but Sasuke doesn't care. He's grounded again and his mother starts talking about counselling, because their poor little Sasuke has gotten in with the wrong crowd. She doesn't get how messed up he is. He just listens apathetically and when they send him to his room he goes. It doesn't really matter because now he has his cell phone and everything else in there, yet he still manages to just go up and fall asleep.

When he opens his eyes again he sees Naruto's angry blue eyes in front of him. Before he knows it the blonde is picking up whatever he can and throws it at him. Sasuke deflects the rocks but as they hit him they feel more like balled up socks. "The hell was that you bastard! You just go and do that and you run away!? You're such a coward!" Naruto's voice is rasping more than it ever has and above them the skies are black and the rain is falling around them. The worst he's ever seen it has been overcast, and maybe a little foggy.

"The hell? Stop throwing shit at me you moron!" Sasuke growls as he's backed against a tree, they're nowhere near the river now.

"I don't know why the hell you decided to show back up!" Naruto…seems angry at him for that more than the actual kiss.

"Can we just forget it?" Sasuke says and he thinks about grabbing Naruto's wrists just so he can get out of here and out of the line of fire.

"Forget it? I wish I could!" Naruto stumbles over his words after that. "I mean damn it! Why did you have to go and make things weird?"

"It just kind of happened!" Sasuke's angry by this point and he's not sure why.

"Just kind of happened, that's such a lame answer," Naruto throws one last thing before he huffs and he leans against a tree and a raven sounds in the distance. "Fucker," this swear sounds even weirder than when he swore the very first time. "I mean I know I'm irresistible and whatever, but can you just be cool about this?"

"Be…cool? What does that even mean, and get over yourself for that matter dumbass," Sasuke huffs and wishes that he had gone back to his strange dreamless sleeps.

"It means that you're a pretty cool guy, can we just not suck face?" Naruto says with a huff. Sasuke wonders if Naruto really hated it that much…but tries to get away from that thought as much as he wants to get away from the fact that he kissed Naruto in the first place.

"Fine, whatever. Hit me again and I'll knock you out," Sasuke growls.

"Che, like you could," Naruto throws another rock at him and Sasuke takes off after him but before long the only thing around him is the echo of Naruto's laugh before a raven swoops in between them and the dream dissipates again.

"Damn it!"

"Did you say something honey?" It's his mother.

"No," He says back and doesn't care if she doesn't hear him. After breakfast hiis father immediately brings him into the police department and is automatically in charge of getting people coffee in the offices and basically staying quiet but only after taking an oath of secrecy. Sasuke doesn't care about what he sees here, he has enough trouble in his head let alone dealing with other people's problems.

It's another month before he sees Naruto again, but this time he isn't quite as angry. In fact there's fog running through the forest and he knows that something's up with the blonde. Naruto's the one to find him this time though. "I don't know what that bastard's problem is, but I can definitely see the resemblance."

"The hell are you rambling on about?" Sasuke's brow rises.

"That raven, it's a bastard just like you," Naruto says and Sasuke rolls his eyes.

"Yeah but you like spending time with me, admit it."

"Che, never! I'm fine by myself," Naruto sounds loud at first, but he's quiet by the end of it as he shoves his hands in his pocket and heads off into the woods, ducking around the wildlife which is even more rugged than when he first found it three years ago.

"Yeah...but you're not," He says quietly as he walks after him, and for the first time since he stupidly kissed the other boy he's finally forgotten about it.

"Of course I'm fine," Naruto flips him off as he walks and Sasuke reaches forward pausing just before his hands grasp Naruto's wrist.

"Naruto…stop," He murmurs.

The blonde does, he turns to look at him, "Yeah?"

"But you're not alone," he clarifies.

Naruto's quiet and they share that look for what seems like the entire night. "Che…that's a good one," Naruto says with a laugh and he swings around one of the trees, "I bet I could climb to the top before you."

"Are you okay?"

"It's nothing," Naruto starts climbing.

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Sasuke can see it in his face, his father talks about the children he's examined in the past in cases of domestic violence…Naruto's starting to seem like one of those people.

"Look, I can handle it so are you going to climb? Or are you going to be a piss off?" Sasuke watches and with a heavy sigh he starts to climb, because climbing down is much easier than jumping. He spends the rest of the night trying to figure out what Naruto's last name is, where he lives but for everything Naruto shares with him he's equally as secretive.

Things in his head are just as fucked up as they are in real life. He spends the next few weeks trying to convince Karin that they aren't dating and at the same time Suigetsu refuses to have anything to do with him. Juugo has a hard time trying not to favour one side over the other and just wants things to settle down. His father's being more of a dick than usual and his mother won't shut up about counselling to top it all off, Itachi cancelled his trip home from college so he's alone with all these psychopaths. Then there's Naruto, every week their world grows darker, he's sure he's seen bruises and something inside him wonders if he's concocted Naruto out of all those odd cases his father has told him about during his career. He doesn't like the experience either way.

It all comes to a head when he sees Naruto there with a black eye. "You've got to be kidding me," Sasuke mutters.

"Go away Sasuke," Naruto says. They're at the river this time, he's just huddled up on the bank in baggy clothes and it looks like it's going to start raining any minute now.

"No, he's hurting you and I knew it," Sasuke says. He wants to shake sense into the boy but nothing physical is going to ever help, so he tries to be the best voice in the blonde's ear.

"Whatever, I tried to sneak out. That's what I get for not listening to the rules, it's not like I didn't know them before I did it," he shrugs.

"Do you even hear yourself? You sound like a fucking idiot," that's definitely not the way to go about this…but it's out of his mouth before he can take it back. "Naruto, what else has he done?"

"Nothing," Naruto shrugs.

"Don't lie to me!"

"Look, whatever if I don't finish my dinner I get punished, same as if I make a mess in the house, or don't get perfe-…good grades. He wants everything perfect and I'm not perfect, I don't get what the big deal is."

He tries to think of what his father would say…but truth is that they'd bring in a professional or refer a professional to the people his father meets. His father doesn't know how to talk to anyone, let alone abused children. "The big deal? The big deal is that it's against the law! You have to charge him, like a public charge!" He tries to think of all the technical terms but he loses it somewhere in the middle of his brain still trying to comprehend what the hell middle English is for his literature class.

"Yeah? How am I going to do that? It's fine, I can handle it," Naruto mutters.

"Clearly you can't," Sasuke says. "You have to tell someone."

"Why? You're figuring it out all on your own, so can they," Naruto mutters.

"Naruto…tell someone."

"No! Why the hell would I do that? I get fed here! I'm in a good school here! So he slaps me every once in a while, big fucking deal. It's so much better than going back to the home where the beatings are hourly!" He growls and he lifts his hands like he's going to shove Sasuke away, but he thinks against it.

"It's not right, why won't you tell anyone about that either?"

"Shut up Sasuke!"

"Naru—"

"—Please stop! I can't, I can't….I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't go back to the home! Don't make me! It's so much worse than here!" Naruto's covering his ears now and shaking his head. "You don't get it, you have everything!"

Sasuke doesn't think he has everything…at least not until he really reflects on it. He swallows thickly, "Fine…but…be careful," He says softly. There's a tension filled moment between them before Naruto leans forward, resting all his weight on one arm and their lips meet again, it's desperate like Naruto's asking him to save him…but it's gone faded out of existence like a gentle breeze.

Sasuke stares up at the ceiling quietly…and can't believe how selfish he's been and thinks that…maybe he can phone Itachi a little more often. First he needs to figure out how he can help someone who may or may not be real.

Sasuke utilizes a lot of his time on the internet, trying to look up ways to help. He tries to find Naruto and this Mr. Sanin but Naruto isn't even documented on whatever school webpage they have for any sort of achievements…and if he is well Sasuke can't find it anyway. He asks his father, and when his father shows concern in his interest he tells him that he wants some sort of head start for when he starts college. That impresses his father, at least a little but he makes sure to ask other more general questions afterward. All the while he dreams, he dreams of Naruto and himself separated by a monstrous waterfall, he dreams of them standing face to face with whirlwinds of fire around them and every time he tries to get close his body involuntarily walks away from the blonde's pleading voice. He can't leave Naruto alone, never, not like whoever he is in this make believe world that won't leave him alone. He sees Sannin's face, he's unnerving and he doesn't know how Naruto can share a house with him and it only makes him want to get Naruto away from him faster…so when he dreams with Naruto he begs him, he throws his pride away and asks him who he is, how to find him…but instead Naruto tells him about his dad.

"He was the best dad ever," Naruto murmurs as he looks up at the sky, it's splashed with lavender, thistle, gold, and powder blue and there's a gentle lull around them. When Naruto's happy there are birds whistling while butterflies and dragonflies crackle around them. This lull is peaceful though. "He used to take me for ice cream, and to the park and when I asked him to push me higher he would. He's not like those dads at the park who say they're tired. He taught me how to ride a bike, and we played catch and he helped me train Kurama…every summer he'd take me here…to this river and he'd toss me off this bank. He'd always apologize by taking me for ice cream," he says and his voice gets heavier and heavier as it goes on. "He loved my mom like no one else could…that's rich coming from an…eight year old at the time, but they never fought. They always worked together when trouble happened…she used to sing when she cooked, she'd always make my pancakes into a smiley faced sunshine…y'know with strawberry slices as the rays?" There's a smile on his face.

Sasuke watches Naruto's face as he talks and sees just how much he misses his parents and it breaks his heart. He thinks that when he wakes up he's going to make his parents breakfast, because his mother is always so wonderful for him and if Naruto can't take care of his mother then he can take care of his. "What happened to them?" Sasuke asks quietly.

Naruto looks at Sasuke, his eyes are glossy and he shakes his head. "They went out one night for dinner and they left me with Kakashi even though…he had a school project to do. I think it was their anniversary, but it was raining and they were T-Boned on the way home…she died instantly but my dad…I don't…" he lets out a heavy breath and he closes his eyes, trying to fight back his tears.

"I'm sorry," He reaches forward just as Naruto's eyes open. He wants to run his fingers through Naruto's hair, and he wonders if it's soft and it doesn't freak him out to think things like that, because fuck what other people think about him. He doesn't want to disappear either…so his hand gently hovers over Naruto and he ghosts it over Naruto's head. He repeats the motion as close as he can get, imitating what he wants to do and Naruto's eyes close again. He sucks in a deep breath and lets it out so slowly that Sasuke wonders where he holds all that air.

"You're a good person Sasuke…" He whispers and Sasuke lets his hand fall just above Naruto's head.

"Not really," Sasuke isn't because he can't figure out how to help Naruto. He draws closer quietly, maybe okay with this because his doubts are starting to come back…but he wants to be okay with this.

"Sasuke…don't. I can't really afford to be messed up like that," He mutters. It might sound offensive but Sasuke can hear it, somehow he knows exactly what Naruto means…if this Sannin knew that Naruto was attracted to men, let alone someone in his head who knows what he'd do? "I…wish I could," He says and this isn't his Naruto. He isn't bright eyed, he isn't unyielding, and Sasuke can't figure out how to bring him back.

It's too quiet, almost as quiet as it was when Naruto disappeared. "Yeah…I get it," He murmurs, but does he? Would his father do something like that? He doesn't think so. It would be bad, but he'd get through it somehow.

Naruto smiles and he reaches up and his fingers ghost over Sasuke's and he sees the ceiling in his bedroom again. He goes to school, and doesn't want to put up with Suigetsu's shit or Karin's for that matter, but it's good because today Suigetsu finally talks to him, and thing start going back to normal.

He walks in on his mother making breakfast one morning. He's taller than her now, by a lot so he places his hand on her shoulder. When she turns she wishes him a good morning and he nods before saying a quiet, "I love you mom," it's a little foreign on his tongue but he means it. He nods and simply leaves her to her business, but that night she hugs him until he's sure his ribs are cracked.

He dreams about the taste of coffee that has five too many sugar cubes in it, and the smell of licorice that's dried into the candy dish it's been placed into. Sannin's house is eerily quiet and perfect, and he fears a little more for Naruto's wellbeing if this is actually the house he lives in.

"You never talk about your dad," Naruto says as they toss pebbles across the river. They stop going anywhere else, just like they stop climbing trees and encountering wild animals that want nothing more than to be pet…it's just the river now.

"I don't even know what to tell you," Sasuke says honestly.

"How? I don't get it?" Naruto says. "I want to know."

"Well…he's the chief of police, and he's busy all the time…" he tells Naruto all there is to know about his father. How he's missed every major point in Sasuke's life because work is more important, but has never missed anything of Itachi's. Every award Itachi has ever won was met by a proud father where Sasuke's awards were only ever attended by Itachi and his mother…and eventually just his mother. He tells Naruto of how his father asks him to leave him alone, 'you can leave anytime now, I'd be okay with that' always cold and clipped like Sasuke doesn't matter.

"Wow…now I get why you're such a dick," Naruto says with a heavy breath and he shakes his head.

Sasuke stares at Naruto and he feels a little angry. He kind of wants to punch the blonde, but the second the thought crosses his mind he can feel his arm buried deep into Naruto's chest and his head snaps back in recoil.

"Whoa, no I'm sorry…I shouldn't have said that," Naruto says and he ducks his head. "I'm so stupid…"

Sasuke rolls his eyes, "No you aren't," he doesn't know why he says it. Maybe it's because Naruto sounded so defeated.

"I am...I'm failing more than half my classes. I don't even know what's going to happen when Orochimaru finds out," Naruto doesn't use his name often.

Sasuke watches him and his brow furrows. Biting the inside of his cheek he thinks, even as he gleans everything he can for information on Naruto, he's top in his class. "I can help…I'll help, just tell me what you need to learn and I promise we can get you better grades," he wouldn't do this for anyone else.

"Why? It's pointless," Sasuke knows that Naruto means he's not worth it.

"Whoever is telling you that's a liar, "Naruto looks taken aback. "Just tell me, anything at all and every time we're here, I'll teach you," he needs to assure Naruto as much as possible.

They stare at each other for ages before Naruto nods. "Okay, let's do this," and he smiles, the first genuine one in a long time.

They go at this hard every time they meet, and Naruto has a hard time retaining any of it. Sasuke grows frustrated, but he never gives up. If he can't save Naruto through the law, he can save him from getting hurt through his grades. Each week Naruto knows a little bit more, but he's also obviously sore some days and Sasuke begins to realize just how pale Naruto has gotten since they were 12. It only steels his will even more because he's not that version of him in his other dreams…he won't run away, he won't betray his friends because that isn't who he is here, and three months later they make a breakthrough. Naruto doesn't learn the same way other students do, not nearly as well so he tries to use as many visualizations as he can, step by step processes and shows him whenever he can.

"I got an A…I can't believe it," Naruto says when he sees Sasuke that night and there is a gloss over his eyes. "Sasuke…I could kiss you right now," Sasuke wishes he would…wait, does he?

"See, all you needed was a little help. We'll get you another A, and another after that," Sasuke says and he allows a smile where usually he'd smirk.

This continues for two more months before he dreams of someone's hands on his body, caressing him until he sings with pleasure. There are lips at his neck and he can feel his own hands sliding along warm flesh and sifting through soft tresses. Honey flesh arches beneath his finger tips and there are sweet noises filling his ears…it's at 16 that Sasuke knows what it's like to be loved completely and he can't let go of it. He refuses to. Everything seems to be going perfectly, Naruto's average has shot up to the top percentages in his classes. He knows that subjects like math are out of his head by the time the test is over, but it's enough for now. The classes he likes never leave, and even now Naruto can tell him the authors to 14 different poems from the 18th century, the days they were born and the days they died.

One day Sasuke finds he doesn't care anymore, he sits his parents down one night and even though he fidgets with the knee of his pant leg the confession comes out easily. "I'm gay," He says, maybe it's a lie because he knows that when he dies he's going to be married to Naruto one way or another. He knows he's real because it's too devastating to think of the alternative. He knows that he's not attracted to any other men anywhere, no women, it's only Naruto.

They're deathly silent for a while and his father clears his throat. "Gay…as in, you're attracted to males?"

"I'm sure as hell not boisterously happy," Sasuke says before he apologizes to his mother for cursing, but she doesn't notice, she's watching his father too. "I don't care if you approve, I'd just like for us to be civil and when I've graduated we can talk as much as you need us to," Sasuke says.

"Okay…" his father says and he nods. "I'm glad we had this talk," He says simply and he stands and leaves the room. He wasn't expecting that, but he doesn't know why he didn't because his dad has treated him with nothing but disinterest as far back as he can remember.

"Just let it sink in honey," his mother says and she offers him a smile. When they stand her arms extend and she gathers him close. His fingers fist so tightly that they crack and he nods.

"Thanks mom…" He murmurs and as they pull back she rubs his back before she sends him on his way.

It's just before he goes to bed that he hears a knock on his door. His father walks in and he sits on Sasuke's bed across from where Sasuke's sitting in his computer chair. "Sasuke," He starts and Sasuke's so shocked he almost doesn't know what to do.

"Yes father?" he's watching him warily.

His father stands and he begins to pace and after a few moments he beckons Sasuke over. He's reluctant but he stands and he feels his father's large hand rest on his shoulder. "I'm proud of you Sasuke," He says firmly even though his voice is quiet.

Sasuke's eyes are wide as he stares at the man in front of him, it's the biggest compliment he's ever been given. "Dad?" his voice is hardly there and his father's hand squeezes his shoulder a little tighter.

"And I want you to know…that I love you no matter what," he nods and it looks like he's about to leave but he isn't given the chance. Sasuke's arms are around his father's torso and he's soon enveloped in an embrace that's so familiar it could have been a stranger's…but hell if it isn't one of the most comforting embraces he's ever experienced. He lets out a sob into his father's shirt and he feels a hand on the back of his head…because he can't contain it. He can't be a perfect Uchiha right now because just one moment from his father was all he'd ever wanted as a kid.

They stay like that for some time, until Sasuke calms down and he feels his dad's hand pat him firmly on the back. "Enough now," He says before he pulls back. He nods, and Sasuke isn't sure but he thinks there's a quirk at the corner of his lip, "You should get to bed, son," he says.

"Night, dad," Sasuke nods and does as suggested, he no longer feels like a stranger in his home and he can't wait to share the news with Naruto. When he dreams Naruto's world is foggy and he breathes out a heavy sigh. He finds him at the bank and he sits down beside him.

"You look really happy Sasuke," Naruto says and tries to smile, but it's hollow and Sasuke can't appreciate the effort anymore.

"My dad and I talked tonight," he says, but he keeps an eye on Naruto.

"Dad? You only ever call him father," Naruto says and Sasuke's taken aback by that.

"Yeah…I came out, and he…he said he loves me no matter what," he admits. Naruto has another smile on his face.

"I'm really happy for you Sasuke," It sounds more believable. "Tell me more," He says as he leans back, so Sasuke does until there's nothing left to say. They lay there together, just looking at one another and Naruto looks like he wants to say something. Every time the blonde opens his mouth, nothing comes out and he shakes his head.

"You know you can tell me anything Naruto," He says and Naruto nods, tries again, and fails.

"It's hard…maybe…maybe next time. I just, I can't think of how to say it," He whispers.

"Take as long as you need," Sasuke assures him. He wishes that he could say this was a surprise, but even as Naruto's grades get higher and Naruto appears with less bruises, he doesn't appear to be any happier. He seems much worse, in fact.

"I just don't want us to change," Naruto says and it breaks his heart for two reasons. Sasuke wants their relationship to change because he knows that beautiful feeling, the one that loved him was coming from Naruto and no other, but also because it was changing anyway. Naruto almost never smiles, he's quieter and somehow even when he's yelling, or saying ridiculous things, it's empty.

"Naruto…I love you," He says softly, he needs Naruto to let him save him but the blonde just smiles sadly.

He feels Naruto's fingers link with his and his eyes widen as he stays in this world. He can feel the soft pads of the blonde's fingers, he can feel the warmth spreading through him and he grips tighter, never wanting to let go. "I wish…you were real Sasuke," He whispers just before their lips touch and Sasuke's awake.

He feels like his world has shattered as he stares at his ceiling, and even though it's 2 AM he can't sleep for the life of him. His friends stop mattering, his father's love and his mother's gentle acceptance with them. He can't dream, he dreams of absolutely nothing anymore and it's torture because he needs to tell Naruto that he is real. It's weeks, or maybe months before he dreams of a university and nothing else. He feels like he's going insane, because all of a sudden he's fucking normal.

Then, just as soon as he stops dreaming, he starts again. It's so fast, there's the flash of so many roads he's never seen before. There are images of a large breasted woman, a man with wild white hair and that bastard that has Naruto. There's more, there are faces of people his age but there are never names, and just as fast as they fade into his mind they fade out. He's left with the vision of Naruto's house, the perfect dusty rose wallpaper, the antique furniture and the smell of licorice. He sees the man overlooking Naruto's grades and as they get higher the more affectionate he grows. First it's just the brushing back of his hair, a small I'm proud of you, then it's a hand on his knee, his thigh and other unquestioningly horrifying places and Sasuke wants to scream, he wants out, he wants to be awake. He couldn't have been serving Naruto on a platter like this, and before he knows it the old grandfather clock strikes 12:15 AM and Naruto's on the hardwood floor, his clothes lay in tatters around him and that vile snake is covering him with his body, thrusting into Naruto as he cries and struggles. Naruto's hand catches on the pale face and pries it back, doing anything and everything to stop him before he's backhanded so harshly that he's too dazed to do anything. The man reaches for a knife, and as he ruthlessly violates the blonde a knife drags across Naruto's face as he sobs, pleading for Orochimaru to stop, for someone to help…Sasuke's name…there's a flash of numbers and letters before his eyes before he screams and he's upright in his bed drenched in sweat.

"No…no, no, no, nonononono, fucking no!" He says as he stands and his foot thuds against the ground and he reaches for his cellphone and calls it in as fast as he can, trying to stay calm because his dad has told him how to report emergencies, but the dispatcher is fucking useless and by the end of it he's yelling at the phone because it's 11:50 PM and he needs someone there before it's too late.

"Sasuke, what the hell is going on in here?" his father storms into his room with a robe on, his mother only two steps behind clearly worried.

"You have to help him dad! You have to help him, he's going to kill him!" he knows he will…because he's leaving too much evidence, it's hard to hide wounds that need to be treated in the hospital.

"Sasuke, calm down, what are you talking about?"

"Naruto! He's going to hurt him…he…he texted me, you need to call you have to do something!" Sasuke says and his father's trying to calm him down.

"Where is he, did you already call?"

"They couldn't find the right place, you need to know how right dad? Right?" he calms down shortly after, his dad calms him somehow and manages to get the address to the eerie looking house in Oto with all the details that Sasuke could have possibly given without his throat constricting on him.

"They've been dispatched Sasuke, you have to calm down and wait…" He says softly. His dad was able to find the long number to the local department…he knew he could rely on his dad but he shakes his head anyway.

"He has to be okay dad…" he whispers. He has to be okay because it's 12:05 AM and he needs to be wrong…and if he's not then he'll kill that snake bastard himself.

"Talk to me Sasuke," he knows what his dad's asking him…he's asking why he's never heard of Naruto, so Sasuke tells him in a way he might understand. He says that he knew Naruto when they were kids, but when he was moved away they kept in touch through their phones. "You did the right thing Sasuke," but the Sasuke disagrees.

It's hours before they get any news, and it's only because his father is who he is that Sasuke's getting any confirmation of what happened. Orochimaru Sanin has been detained and Naruto was rushed to the ER to treat various traumas…they tell Sasuke that he's a hero, that he's saved a life, and that he should be proud.

Sasuke doesn't feel like much of a hero.

He can't sleep, it's weeks and he can't sleep. He tries to convince his dad to go to Oto, but he can't afford the time off of work. His mother tries to apologize for his father but Sasuke doesn't want to hear it. Money is such a bullshit excuse. He doesn't know what to do, because even when he does sleep there's nothing that meets him, no visions of being loved, no visions of being a traitor in some weird world…there's nothing.

Itachi's home for study days, and he does everything in his power to keep Sasuke stable, but it only helps a little. Sasuke's glad for the small comfort though, because he'd go insane otherwise. He knew Naruto was real, but if this is the price he wished that Naruto had stayed a dream.

He passes out due to exhaustion and when his eyes open he sees a world that's everything like the dark forest he had found himself in when he first met Naruto. It's filled with those same thistles, mauves, crimsons, burgundies, lilacs, blacks and greys. The trees are every bit as threatening as the chill in the air and it's through the trees that he sees Naruto, curled under a tree. His body is glowing so brightly that he can't see anything else, and he needs to go to him. He needs to tell Naruto that he's real, that he's sorry, that he has to see him, he has to know where he is now but as he draws closer he's suddenly intercepted. There's a fox in front of him, fur bristled and fangs bared with a deep rumble in its throat. He's larger than he's ever been when they were children and he shakes his head.

"Kurama…it's me…it's Sasuke. You have to let me see him, I need him!" He tries to reason but the fox has never trusted him and Kurama advances and Sasuke feels like he's being blamed for not being able to save Naruto when the fox trusted the blonde to him. The only thing that saves him from Kurama's waiting fangs is the flash of a dusk feathered wing. When Sasuke opens his eyes Kurama and Naruto are gone. "No!" he sinks to the ground and the raven is perched before him, and it chimes again followed by several caws. "Why?"

The raven stares at him, but makes no move and his eyes are black…so black and so large that Sasuke sees himself in them. His eyes are wide and he looks around…the trees here are rounded and Sasuke suddenly realizes that this is his world. He had been so long invading Naruto's that he had never discovered that this must be his. He had been so alone as a child, and depressed that his brother and father were ignoring him that he created this. His fingers crack as they ball into fists and he knows what he needs to do. He starts willing things to be as he wants…the sky is spread into a vibrant blue and the trees begin to twist into something real, something lush and beautiful. It's so easy to navigate by the time he's done because even though he's torn up inside…he needs to convince Naruto to follow him here. He needs it to be comforting, he needs to do anything he can to find the blonde. When he's done it's a landscape that would explode the heart of any photographer or painter…Sasuke didn't know he had it in him. He turns to the raven who clicks at him, "Who are you?"

There's another click and Sasuke just shakes his head. "You're like Yatagurasu…" He knows a lot of myths and legends revolving around Ravens, good and bad…this feels right, now that he understands the raven's behaviour...he's been calling him back here, to this wood and when things grew too quickly, to harshly with Naruto it would interfere. All he receives is another series of clicks before he wakes again and his fist slams down on his bed. Maybe the legend is too big for his life's story, regardless, he wishes he had understood sooner.

Sasuke's mind is silent again…and this time Sasuke's afraid it's forever. He tries to find Naruto, he tries to reach him any way he can. When his dad refuses to go there he runs away and walks, hitchhikes, and basically does what he can to get to Oto. He doesn't get more than three cities over before he's detained by the police, and escorted back home. His father's furious and tries to tell Sasuke that he can't just take off, that he should have waited until they could all go but Sasuke tunes him out and wonders if this will affect his future career, but he doesn't give two shits he finds.

He tries, he tries as hard as he can but he can't find Naruto. When his dad can eventually find the time to bring him across to Oto, Naruto has moved. sasuke's father apologizes that they couldn't come in time, Sasuke doesn't even hear it. He dreams of another city but he can't find the name in his head, and he gives up…he finds a girlfriend or two but refuses to look at any other men and he figures this will be easier. Their relationships run their course because he's so busy studying for acceptance into the university he wants to attend, because he doesn't love them…he might only tolerate them. It's just…too normal for him. There's nothing more than the city name, there are no impressions, no fate laced dreams of another reality and all Sasuke has is the memory of Naruto's face with a big, dumb, beautiful grin on it. He's too fucking normal.

He graduates with honors, and scholarships to the university he wants. He packs up and moves away from home, enduring a tearful goodbye from his mother and another hardy hand on his shoulder from his dad before he drives away in the car they've gifted him for his graduation. He moves into the dorms and attends classes in criminology, and tries to find what branch of the law he wants to settle into. Part of him wants to obtain evil men like Orochimaru…part of him wants to make sure they're put away for life.

He attends school for a couple of months before he finds himself in the cafeteria and he sees a head of blonde hair that feels so familiar. His heart drops and he pleads in his mind for the man to turn around, to look at him, to show him those cornflower blues…it can't be.

The blonde turns around and Sasuke realizes that the man is surrounded by a bunch of other students who are loud and laughing. He doesn't realize that they seem familiar because they don't matter to him. The blonde turns around and their eyes meet…it's Naruto, it's impossible, but true. The blonde's bag slips from his shoulder and thuds against the ground, heavy with texts and notebooks. He's dark as when they first met, his flesh is honey and his hair is golden like the sun. There are six neatly healed scars distributed evenly on his cheeks, but he's still as beautiful as he was then.

"Naruto you dumb ass, you dropped your bag," says a brunette who picks it up for him but Naruto doesn't move. Naruto walks forward, his brow is furrowed but he stops and hesitates.

Sasuke wants to cry, even here in the middle of his peers…because he sees for the first time the only person he's ever wanted in his entire life, the one he's wanted since he could barely count to 100. He rushes forward, and instead of weeping he places his hands at Naruto's neck and draws him into a kiss. It's so real, and so much more than he had ever dreamed. His lips are soft and so hot that the warmth spreads through his body, the roar of the cafeteria doesn't waver but Sasuke's world stops anyway, capturing the feeling of Naruto's lips responding to his equally as desperately…rejoicing in the fact that Naruto doesn't disappear from his grasp. He's there, he's Sasuke's and he refuses to let go.

He pulls back once his lips are bruised and the comments from Naruto's friends don't matter to him, no matter how loud or flippant. It's Naruto's words that are deafening, "You're real…"

Sasuke's brow furrows and he nods, "I'm real," he murmurs, his thumb gently caressing the other man's neck and he coaxes Naruto away from his friends with minimal involvement from those other students because Naruto is his…and even though he has the rest of his life to find out every detail he can about the blonde he doesn't want to waste a second.

When they finally dream again, it's in a world at peace.

**End.**

 I don't even know how to possibly articulate what was in my head, I can only hope that it was at least partially successful at writing something sentimental and powerful. 

This was originally going to be a oneshot, but there are things in Naruto's life that are vital to knowing everything I wanted to write, there are currently a total of five parts written that I will post weekly. I estimate a total of ten installments, but I have grossly underestimated the length of my fics before. 

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading.

OddlyEnded

 


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's where the work begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's been a shift in writing style, of course. I know things seem simple right now, but I need to lay the ground for some of the more serious chapters coming up, so hopefully you will bear with me for a while
> 
> Warnings: Some OOC (hopefully minimal), Language, Far off in the future death (I know some people really don't like this, but I assure you it isn't any part of the main 'cast'), Some dark themes

Naruto's eyes were wide as the pale hand around his gripped him even tighter. He was utterly speechless as Sasuke walked at a brisk pace in front of him, urging him around the back of the cafeteria until they were both in a small secluded garden that had been landscaped and donated to the institution from a sister school. The moment they stopped Sasuke dragged him back into another kiss, his warm hands were planted firmly on either side of his face and Naruto had almost been too dazed to breathe as the warmth spread through his skin in a way it never had while he slept. He could actually feel Sasuke, the warmth of his hand, the calloused skin of his fingertips, and Sasuke somehow remained.

"Sasu—" the other man's lips were on his again. Had he always been this tall? No…no they were the same height, and no matter how much he may or may not have been leaning up into the kiss could convince him that, that wasn't the truth. "—ke…" He sucked in a deep breath as he looked up at the other man whose face had always been so hard for him to read. "What…what are you doing here?" He asked. He was overwhelmed, he had always imagined Sasuke…imagined. Sasuke was a place he had created to escape to, hadn't he been?

"I could ask you the same question," Sasuke said and Naruto bit the inside of his lip hard just as Sasuke's arms slipped around his back and his chin rested on his shoulder. This was beyond any reaction he would have imagined from the other man and it left him shaking.

"I moved here after…I moved here when I was released from Orochimaru's care," Naruto said, his tongue running along his dry lips. Sasuke needed some explanation; if this odd happening was in fact shared, then that was when they had lost contact. Sasuke didn't need to know anything about what had happened between him and the snake bastard. Naruto told himself that the rough grip Sasuke had on the back of his shirt was in response to that bastard's name and nothing more.

"I…I dreamt of this place until I graduated. I didn't know, I just thought…I thought it felt right," His voice was quiet and Naruto's arms gently slipped around the other man as well, allowing himself this moment because Sasuke sounded just as broken as he had felt his entire life.

Naruto bit his lip but managed a smile all the same. Naruto never dreamt about this school, but there was a lot of weird and crazy shit floating around his head that Naruto believed Sasuke's answer. After all, he had dreamt of Sasuke outside of their world before. "I—"

"Naruto, I have to get to class and hells if I'm going to babysit your bag," Naruto heard Kiba's voice sound behind him and he let out a groan before he pulled away from Sasuke with a nervous laugh.

"Uh yeah, sorry about that," He said as he reached for the bag that Kiba handed out to him. The brunette on the other hand, was staring at Sasuke with a frown on his face. "Uh…this is Sasuk—"

"I'm his boyfriend," Sasuke said, his eyes were narrow. It was an expression Naruto had seen plenty on the tail of some of their super classy arguments.

"What? No, he's really not," Naruto said with a frown wondering how in the hell Sasuke could say that when the other man knew absolutely nothing about how he had changed.

"Whoa, hey, it's not my business, even though I'm your best friend and I'm pretty sure I should be pissed that you've been seeing someone and never told me. I've gotta run though, so I'll be pissed with you later," he said and latching his own bag over his shoulder he took off up one of the steep flights of stairs.

"Uh…well, I guess that was Kiba. He's a bit of a dumbass," Naruto said rubbing his neck all of a sudden feeling awkward. "I mean, he's pretty good and whatever when it comes to science and shit like that, I guess he's probably heading towards one of his biology classes or whatever, but he really has no sense of timing, or privacy, or… you just said you're my boyfriend…" Naruto said with a frown unable to finish his previous thought.

"Is that going to be a problem?" Sasuke asked, one elegant brown arched as he waited for an answer.

Naruto frowned as he stared the man down, "You're presumptuous. What if I did have a problem with it?"

"You wouldn't have followed me down here, you wouldn't have let me kiss you…" Sasuke caught his lips again and Naruto felt a searing heat flare up his neck. "Four times…" he said against his mouth. "In fact, you'd be rather loud about it," Sasuke said and the man's arms slithered around him again.

"Che…" Naruto said. "You could have at least asked me out first," Naruto muttered as he shuffled his feet. This…was underwhelming and yet the complete opposite at the same time. He looked at the other man, he had aged well. He stood roughly…no he had to be the same height as him, and his hair hadn't changed. His jaw was more square and his body had filled out from the lanky teen Naruto had left behind. He was left wondering just how much of Sasuke had been real, whether within Naruto's world, or out of it. At the same time, he didn't know what to say, everything that had been said so far was so ridiculous. "I guess things aren't like the movies though…"

"What?" Sasuke had an odd look on his face.

"Uh…am I keeping you from a class or anything, you looked like you were headed somewhere," Naruto said and he felt a little warmer and felt it getting a little harder to breathe.

"It's not important."

"You? Blowing off class?" Naruto said, suddenly doubting how much of Sasuke he actually knew.

"You're more important," Naruto did step back at that and swallowed hard.

"Sasuke…" he said and looked over his shoulder. "Sasuke, it's been…it's been a long time. Maybe…maybe, here, uh…I've got a cell now," Naruto said as he dug his out of his pocket and unlocked the screen. "Give me your number…and you can text me when you're done. I mean…I can hang around that long, it isn't a 3 hour class or anything is it?"

Sasuke watched him quietly and held his hand out. Naruto cleared his throat and handed over his phone as Sasuke began to input his number before he sent a text to himself, or at least Naruto figured when he heard a buzz from the other man's pocket. "It more like 2.5 hours, now," he said, he didn't sound happy.

"I'm…not saying no," Naruto said quietly. "Uh, yeah, we'll meet back here when you text me okay? You better go," he said. Sasuke nodded with a grunt before he turned to leave, he gave Naruto one brief glance before he headed in the same direction as Kiba and Naruto slumped down onto the bench he had been sitting in. He didn't know how to go back to the way they were…as much as he hadn't wanted them to change, he didn't even know how much he knew about Sasuke, or how much the other man knew about him. How do you even begin to talk about this? Therapy or something like that? No…Naruto had been to his fair share of therapy sessions, and he quite frankly didn't want to add this to the list.

Naruto had every single intention of walking back up to the cafeteria. He was hopefully going to catch up to any one of them that might have offered him any sort of sound advice. That would mean Kiba would have been out of the running if he had stuck around. Maybe Sai was hanging around the art department? No…Sai was definitely a bad idea. He had never told anyone about Sasuke, he had been Naruto's one saving grace and his one secret. He was so sure that plenty of people had an imaginary friend, but when his life had finally fallen into chaos he had forced himself to let go of Sasuke, because family didn't save you, friends didn't save you, so dreams certainly couldn't save you. He had let go and did his best to fight for himself. He had no idea that Sasuke could have been real, and as he thought back to the other boy's behaviour, he had no idea that there was anyone else in this world that had been fighting to save him just as hard as he was trying to save himself.

All his thoughts were interrupted when he heard light footsteps approaching. He turned his head and he saw Sasuke there and he blinked and looked down to his phone. There was a text waiting him (many texts, in fact), he had been so lost in his own world that he hadn't noticed. It was just like Sasuke to distract him. The time had gone by too fast.

"Are you ready to finally talk about us?"

Us…Naruto snorted as he looked at the text from Sasuke. It was a simple 'finished' on his screen. He let out a heavy breath before he patted the seat beside him. Sasuke sat down and immediately he felt the other man's hands clasp around his and he bit his lip. "You're handsy," Naruto said. If he recalled correctly, Sasuke didn't much like being touched.

"I like knowing that you aren't going to disappear…I can stop if you want," Sasuke admitted out loud and Naruto nodded, still refusing to look at him and he held Sasuke's hand tighter.

"Yeah…" he whispered. "No, I'm here…" He promised quietly, he understood that sentiment. The last time he had touched Sasuke, he had kissed him, he had kissed him and then never saw him again.

"I've been looking for you…" Sasuke said. Naruto turned his head and Sasuke leaned in until their foreheads were touching. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke…" he said softly.

Naruto felt the warmth spread through him and he ran his tongue along his lips. He felt guilty for not realizing how real Sasuke was…he unintentionally played with Sasuke's feelings and then abandoned him because he believed he was alone. He realized a moment after what Sasuke was saying to him. Sasuke had asked him dozens of time what his full name was and Naruto had never given it. "Uzumaki Naruto…" He said softly and as he continued to speak, there was a grin that spread across his face that he couldn't fight, "it's good to meet you…"

"Finally," Sasuke said and Naruto was once again filled with that overwhelming feeling that told him this couldn't be true. "Are you going to tell me yes, yet?"

"Che…" Naruto said as he leaned back to look at the other man. How much of Sasuke did he know, and how much of what he knew was real?

"I want to know you," Sasuke said. "If I have to take you on a date first, I will. I know this place in town, let's go to dinner," he insisted.

"I'm kind of expected home for dinner," Naruto said, wetting his lips with his tongue.

"Home? That's why I haven't seen you in the dorms," Sasuke said.

"Yeah…my guardians are offering me a place rent free for now. Iruka wouldn't take no for an answer," he said with a nervous laugh and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"And they won't let you go out on a date?"

"Che, nothing like that," Naruto muttered. It just wasn't a very common happening in his life. He tried to be as fucking normal as he could be, but his efforts didn't always buffer the fact that he was completely fucked up below the surface and anyone who had tried to date him had eventually given up.

"Then what is it?" Sasuke looked at him expectantly and Naruto huffed as he looked the man down.

"Gimme a minute," Naruto muttered as he looked at his phone before he dialed home.

"Hey, it's me. I'm not going to be home for dinner…no I didn't plan this. Just put it in the fridge, I'll eat it for lunch tomorrow. What? I can't have plans from time to time? I go out with Kiba all the damn time. What!? No, mind your business old man, unless you want Iruka to know what really happened to his favourite shirt!" Naruto threw a nervous glance at Sasuke as he spoke with Kakashi, "Yeah, that's what I thought. I'll be home later," he said with a huff before he hung up. "Alright, I'm all yours I guess," Naruto said wanting to slap himself once he heard how that might have sounded.

Sasuke simply smirked, "My car's this way," Sasuke said and Naruto blinked when he felt Sasuke's hand slip around his and tug him off toward the residence parking.

"You know, I'm not going to get lost if you don't hold my hand," Naruto said.

"Naruto, I've been waiting for this nearly my entire life…I need to know I'm not dreaming, but if it's a big deal I can stop," He admitted.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and he felt that small ping of guilt well up inside of him again. He hadn't meant to throw Sasuke aside, had he known that the man was real, he never would have let go. "No…it's fine," his mouth was dry. He wasn't used to the thought of somebody wanting him.

It didn't take long once they got into Sasuke's car until they were finally at the restaurant Sasuke had spoken of. When Naruto looked up at the sign he let out a laugh and shook his head before he headed for the door. "Cheap bastard," he said with a grin, but he still felt overwhelmingly happy.

"I thought you'd like it," Sasuke said, and if Naruto hadn't known better, he might have figured that he was pouting.

"My dad used to take me here, mom absolutely hated when he did," Naruto said with his hands in his pockets as he looked up at the Ichiraku's sign.

"I had no idea," Sasuke said, and Naruto found he wasn't sure if Sasuke was lying or not.

"Naruto, back so soon? Your booth is open," the old man said when they entered and he offered a grin before he looked over his shoulder to Sasuke as he headed back toward the booth.

"You come here often then," Sasuke stated.

"Of course, this is my favourite place in town."

"You know, when people have favourite places, they aren't typically restaurants."

"That can't be even remotely true," Naruto said as he slumped down in his seat and he moved to unzip his hoodie before he finally allowed himself to look at Sasuke fully. He bit his lip and he rested his chin on his hand, "So…you have an older brother then," Naruto murmured.

"Yes," Sasuke said as he looked at the card of menu choices on the table.

"Named Itachi…" Naruto continued, he needed to know how much of Sasuke he really knew.

"Yes…" Sasuke said, looking at him oddly.

"Okay…where is he, or rather, how is he?" Naruto asked.

"He's fine, still as cocky as ever. He's currently in law school and still god's gift to my father," Sasuke said with a snort.

Naruto nodded quietly as he thought everything over. He was given another moment when someone came over to take their order. "Uh, the usual. You're looking even more beautiful today, I don't know how it's possible," He said with a grin which only widened when he saw the smile spread across the woman's face.

"Stop it Naruto, I can't be giving you anymore free meals," She said with a smile.

"That's not why I said it," He pouted. "I promise I'm only telling the truth," he said. He never really lied, well he never lied about anything other than himself.

"Moron…" Naruto blinked and looked up at Sasuke before he rubbed the back of his neck again with a slight laugh.

"Besides, the bastard over there is treating me, so don't worry. I'm not here to eat you guys out of business."

"We live to see another day," She said with a smile before she turned to Sasuke who didn't even look at her when he ordered.

Naruto watched as the waitress headed over to her next table and he let out a breath. Talking to people and making them smile was easy. He took one look at Sasuke and that ease disappeared. He didn't know what made Sasuke happy, nor did he know what the man really expected from him. "I'm having a hard time believing this is really happening…" Naruto said softly.

Sasuke looked over the rim of the glass he was drinking from. Clearing his throat he set it down and leaned back, he looked relaxed. "You're not the least bit excited to know it wasn't some messed up fantasy?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto looked down to the drink in front of him and he sucked in a deep breath. "Nah, nothing like that. I mean…you were my best friend. It doesn't seem nearly as pathetic now as it did at the time. I mean, imaginary friends at that age? Awwwkward," Naruto let out a nervous laugh, maybe they shouldn't talk about it. He swallowed before rubbed the back of his neck, "So what are you taking anyway?"

Sasuke looked thoughtful, but when Naruto cleared his throat in a way of demanding an answer, Sasuke finally spoke up, "Relatively general courses right now. Everything in general is revolving around CRIM, I'll decide before the year is out what area I'm going to focus on," he said.

Naruto smiled as his finger moved around the rim of his water glass, remembering some of the discussions they had. "Is that what you want? Your Dad's the chief of police in your district, and your brother's gunna be a big time lawyer," Naruto said, knowing that Sasuke often tried so hard for his father's approval.

"It's what I want," Sasuke said. Naruto wasn't sure if he was imagining the tightened grip Sasuke seemed to have on his glass. "Who knows, I might just go and apply to be a police officer after this is all over," he shrugged.

Naruto leaned against the table and thought for a short while, "You'd make a good detective Sasuke," He murmured. Sasuke had always been so observant, he had been the only one to really figure out what had been going on in his life. "You're so smart," He mused.

"You must be too, if you're attending here," Sasuke said as he took a sip of his water. "I never thought otherwise though."

Naruto grinned and sat back rubbing the back of his neck, "Naaah, I'm here for English and Vis Arts," it wasn't that those subjects weren't smart, but Naruto wasn't going into either of those fields, he simply enjoyed them.

"English…you stuck with it," Sasuke said.

"Yup, all those evening walks and everythi—" Naruto's head picked up and he looked over Sasuke when he saw the waitress coming their way with two bowls. "You are a life saver! We should get married okay?" Naruto said with a grin.

"I don't think my boyfriend would appreciate that," She said with a giggle as she placed their food down.

Sasuke snorted, "I don't think his boyfriend would appreciate it either," He ground out and Naruto flushed.

"Don't pay him any attention, he's here to pay the bill," Naruto said, trying to ignore the noises Sasuke was making under his breath.

"Since when am I paying?"

"Since now," Naruto said absent mindedly as he promptly began to eat the delightful dish. He was sure this was the reason he was put on the planet.

The woman covered her mouth with her hand to hide a small smile. "I promise, he's yours," she said to Sasuke before she headed back off to work.

"Jelly much?" Naruto said as he finished a large mouthful, doing a perfect job of ignoring the bewildered look on Sasuke's face.

"I'm what?"

"Nothing," he said with a chuckle as he sat back before he sighed.

"Naruto, what happened to you after you disappeared?" Sasuke asked quietly. There wasn't really anybody in the restaurant, he imagined Sasuke wouldn't dream of asking if there had been.

Naruto tipped his head as he thought to himself quietly as he thought back on the state of mind he had been in at the time. There had been a lot of confusion and a lot of anger that he hadn't known how to deal with and he sighed. "Well…I guess someone figured it out and called the cops. I was uh…well I live with my guardians now and it's pretty swell…" Naruto said quietly.

Sasuke's eyes widened before he looked down to his dish and started pushing his food around. "I'm happy you found somewhere safe," Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek before he grinned, "Yeah, me too, I just got to be normal for a change. It was pretty nice," he said. It had been one of the few things he wanted for himself.

"Normal, hm?" They were quiet for a moment before they fell into idle chatter, allowing themselves to ignore the big issues with their new found relationship. "How about you let me take you home?" Sasuke said.

Naruto looked down at the two bowls in front of him and he thought about it for a moment. His life had always been so separate from Sasuke. He had given nearly nothing away because he had never seen a need to, not when he believed Sasuke was a figment in his world. He let out a breath and nodded, "Yeah, sure, I don't live too far from here," He said with a grin.

The ride back to the house he lived in with Kakashi and Iruka was relatively quiet. It wasn't until they were nearly home that Naruto spoke up. "I don't know why I stopped dreaming…" Naruto said quietly as his fingers dragged along the interior of the car as he thought back on the nights of tossing back sleep aids and falling into an often fitful sleep. Well, maybe he did, but the reality of it was too much to handle. "You were the best thing that ever happened to me Sasuke..." He said softly.

He could hear the distinct squeak of the raven's hands gripping the steering wheel too tightly. One squeak, two…three. "Does that mean you'll agree to date me then?"

Naruto snorted as he looked out the window and smiled to himself. He had dated before, just once or twice, really. He was freshly 18, and being openly out was relatively new to him. Neither experience had ended well, and Naruto had convinced himself that once again, all he needed was himself because it spared him from his flaw of caring more than was necessary. "My house is right there, the one with the swing in the yard," he hummed.

"Alright," Sasuke slowly pulled up to the curb and looked like he was going to get out.

Naruto bit his lip and looked at the door. The moment the two heard the door slam, they were likely to come out and poke their nose in his business. He leaned over the center piece with one hand on Sasuke's collar and pulled him close until their lips pressed together. The kiss was tender and lasted short moments before Naruto pulled back, "I'll text you okay?" He said with a smile and he reached for the handle behind him before he made a break for his house waving over his shoulder.

-::0::-

Sasuke's eyes opened slowly as Naruto's peachy lips pulled away from the tender kiss. He could feel the years of longing and the vulnerability there, like Naruto was still hiding from him. It was then that he realized the blonde was gone. A hiss of breath escaped him as he slumped into his seat with his forehead rested on the steering wheel. It took long moments before he finally sat up and take the short drive toward the student residence.

Sasuke could only try to understand all that had gone on. Naruto had always hidden from him, he had expected some of the same, and the blonde had delivered. They had spoken all night and Sasuke knew very little, only that Naruto seemed unable to not flirt with everyone. More than anything, the one thing that had made his heart jump in fear was that Naruto had no idea that it had been Sasuke that lived through the same nightmare as an outsider. It was Sasuke who was forced to witness the deterioration of the person most precious to him. Naruto had no idea that Sasuke was the one who had made the call that saved Naruto's life. How did he move on from here? He couldn't slip into this relationship with new eyes any more than he could experience his favourite book. He couldn't un-live the worst night of his life.

Sasuke sat up and looked to the side and saw a book that he had never seen before. He carefully lifted it from the car seat and found the life work of some poet. It had to belong to Naruto. Sucking in a breath, he tucked it away and headed up to his room that he shared with another student. Naruto had agreed to this, Sasuke had been successful in what he set out to do that night. He would have no choice but to keep silent and wait until Naruto trusted him enough to tell him something he already knew.

Sasuke threw his bag to the side and promptly got ready for sleep. When he was finished he sat down on his bed when he noticed the blinking light on his phone. He unlocked the screen and scrolled through everything he had received. There were a few unread texts from Karin and a few others from people back home. What caught his eye was a message from Naruto.

\- You have class tomorrow?

He was momentarily impressed with the lack of text speech that he had a personal distaste for. Maybe Naruto's focus on English should have been a clue.

\- Yeah, I'm out at 11. I have your book.

\- I know. Meet at caf. We'll have lunch, ok?

There was a heart at the end of the text. Sasuke stared at it and almost had the urge to roll his eyes, but he found he could do no other than smile.

\- Yeah, I'll see you there.

He hesitated briefly before adding a heart.

\- Have sweet dreams for me, Bastard

\- You too.

He snorted, but the smile was still on his face. There were a lot of things that they had yet to face, but for now he just wanted to drift off before his roommate returned, and to fall asleep with the thought that he had found him. He had found the person who had kept him sane growing up.

He fell asleep shortly after, still in disbelief at all that had taken place that day.

"Hm, I don't recognize that one, what's his name?" Iruka's voice came from the living room and Naruto let out a groan.

"Sasuke," Naruto mumbled as he threw his bag down by the side door.

"Awful nice of him to drop you off, why isn't he leaving yet?"

"No idea Iruka, maybe he's on his phone," Naruto said with a sigh. He didn't much feel like explaining what was going on. Iruka and Kakashi could be completely insane sometimes.

"It looks like he's banging his forehead against the steering wheel…" he mused.

Naruto cringed as he hung up his coat too and fought the urge to go take a look. "Iruka, quit spying on my friends," Naruto said. "Where's the old man?"

"He went to the market, we're out of breakfast material," he said finally stepping away from the window. "How come I've never heard of this Sasuke before?"

"I dunno, maybe because he's in the CRIM department and that's an entirely different section of campus.

"I was just asking, did you have a bad day or something?" Iruka asked, sounding more concerned than upset like a normal guardian might have.

Naruto looked at the other man and with half lidded eyes he took in the dark hair and skin along with the scar across his face and felt a little more relaxed. His day hadn't been bad at all, he was still reeling from it in fact. It was mostly just overwhelming. "No, it was a good day," Naruto said with a smile. "A lot happened is all, I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to do a little reading and then go to sleep," Naruto said with a wave as he took off up the stairs, making sure to grab his bag again on the way up.

"Have a good sleep," Iruka called up.

"You too!" Naruto said as he made it to his room and heard his phone beep. He laid down on his bed quietly before unlocking the screen to see a good 20 messages waiting for him and he groaned. He still hadn't checked from before he had ate dinner with Sasuke. He moved to the front of the line and opened the first text.

\- Jerk u should've told me u were seeing some1

It was from Kiba.

\- now every1 is going 2 no

"Fuck…" Naruto said rubbing his eyes as he rolled over onto his back. Sure enough the next million texts were from Sakura and Ino.

\- How come u never told me u were seeing sum1! Who is it?

Sakura, and damned if everyone's text speak wasn't killing him at the same time.

\- Kiba, I'm going to kill you.

He said, promptly pushing enter before trying to decide whether he was going to answer all these damned questions, or let the girls suffer. He decided to answer Sakura first.

\- **Started seeing someone. I guess you'll have to find out.

\- every1 said u were kissing sum guy in the caf.

\- And?

\- I want details you butt! Is he hot?

Naruto snorted, Sakura only ever typed properly when she was getting upset. Naruto grinned.

\- He's hotter than your boyfriend.

-I dont have 1

I hate you.

\- Sweet dreams Sakura.

Was all he said before he promptly began to ignore the texts she was continuing to send. Sometimes he wondered if it would be a crime to throw that damn phone in the ocean.

-::0::-

"You're leaving today," the voice was quiet and factual.

Naruto was sitting on a cafeteria style table, somewhere between the ages of 8 and 10 with another boy who looked around the same age. Naruto bit his lip before he puffed out his unscarred cheeks in preparation for what he did next. He launched himself forward and he hugged the redheaded boy tightly. "I'd take you with me," Naruto said quietly. "I would," it was like he was whispering a promise.

"You need this more," the redhead said, closing his eyes and he rested one hand on Naruto's back.

"It's not fair," Naruto murmured. "I'll be back, they always send me back."

"You can't think like that, besides, I have my brother here, he'll keep me safe," he said.

"He better, or I'll come back'n'beat him up. That's a promise," Naruto said, not letting go.

"You hear that Kankuro, he's going to beat you up," the boy said.

"Yeah right, like you could," he snorted before he tipped his chin up. "They wanna see you."

"I'm gunna see you again Gaara, I promise," he said after one more bone crushing hug.

"If it means you're back in this place, I better not," was all the redhead said.

Naruto bit his lip and nodded, "Bye…" he murmured before looking to Kankuro, "I mean it, now that Temari's been moved, you're the next best thing he's got."

"Ouch…next best thing?" was all Kankuro said before nodding and Naruto was gone from the room with one last look over his shoulder at the two other boys.

The walk down the hall was long and drawn out. Each step echoed against the yellow walls and somehow managed to sound damp and cold. There was distant chatter and laughter heard through some of the open doorways, but Naruto never once looked down them.

"Ah, here he is," It was a large man that spoke with an outstretched arm waving Naruto into the office.

The blonde stood at the door frame, almost peeking around it at the tall black haired man for a very long moment. "That's him?" he asked.

"Yes, Mr. Sannin and his siblings knew your father quite well.

"So did lot of other people…why is it important now?" he muttered, not moving closer.

The black haired man walked forward and Naruto took a step back as he crouched down, bringing himself to eyelevel. "You've been difficult to find little one. My name is Orochimaru," his voice was hoarse, but still travelled smoothly and Naruto had no idea what to make of that.

"Why don't I remember you?" he didn't share his name. Naruto didn't like this. He'd rather be there with Gaara.

"I'm sure you'll remember my sister, Tsunade," he offered.

Naruto looked down for a moment, his teeth worrying at his lip again before his eyes snapped up. "Granny?" there was a flash of a blonde woman offering him a hug after he had broken his arm when he was still very small.

"She must have loved that," he said, sounding amused. "Come now, I'm going to take you home after we finish here. I'm sure you and I will get along just perfectly."

Naruto wasn't sure the feeling that went through him, but the thought that this man knew his parents, that he knew granny Tsunade was too much to ignore. He nodded quietly, "Is Kakashi going to be around too?" he asked, wondering if him being hard to find was a problem for him too.

"I don't think we should discuss that now. I'll discuss it with you when you're ready to hear it," he said, a quirk to his wide mouth.

Naruto thought it over before he nodded and stepped closer to Mr. Ibiki's desk. He leaned over the desk and whispered quietly, "Do you think I'll be back again?" his blue eyes wide and questioning.

Ibiki's normally bored eyes looked to Mr. Sannin for a moment, but he was cut off before he could answer. "You have so little faith in me Naruto, I'm sure we'll be together for a long time," he said.

Naruto looked down at the desk for a moment before looking up to Ibiki. "I'm sure everything will be fine," he said in his monotone voice, resting a hand on Naruto's head.

"If you say so…" Naruto said as he leaned back from the desk and snuck a peek back at Mr. Sannin, who was busy filling out paperwork. He watched him and hoped that maybe things would turn out good this time…

-::0::-

Sasuke sat up in bed with a sharp gasp as the last image faded from his memory. The look of those yellow eyes looking over his shoulder left him unsettled. Maybe no one could have imagined the way Naruto's stay with Orochimaru could have turned out, but witnessing the finalization of the documents, Sasuke swore he could see it in the way the an looked at Naruto, at the way the words fell from his serpent tongue. He wasn't to be trusted, he was never to have been trusted. The inability he had to reach out, to warn them, to do anything that might have stopped Naruto from leaving that group home that day was infuriating.

Sasuke looked up at the ceiling and he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand before he turned his head and saw his roommate sleeping, hardly making any noise. He shook his head and he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. He made his way to the shared bathroom and quickly splashed some water into his face with a heavy sigh. He looked into the large mirror in front of him, noting the dark circles under his eyes and he sighed. He had an opportunity to get to know Naruto in person, and here he was, still dreaming of things Naruto didn't trust him with yet. "Fuck…" he muttered.

"I think it's much too early in our relationship to suggest things like that," a smooth voice sounded.

Sasuke frowned and he looked at a boy with black hair, and an unnerving smile. "I didn't know there was anyone in here," He muttered.

"Neither did I until you spoke," He said and washed his hands.

Sasuke couldn't figure that out, since he hadn't exactly been quiet what with the running water. He frowned and they stared at each other for a long moment. "What?"

"The way you were staring, I thought you wanted to say something. You know, I'm a good listener," he said.

"It's a little rude don't you think? Imposing on someone else's problems without introducing yourself," Sasuke said. It didn't matter if Sasuke was the type of person to open up and talk to people, no one would believe what his problems consisted of anyway.

"Is it? I'm sorry, I didn't know. I have a class early, so I should go," was all he said before smiling and turning to leave.

Sasuke watched the stranger's back as he left and shook his head. That was easily one of the weirdest meetings he had ever had, to top it all off he still hadn't gotten the man's name. He turned back to the mirror before he washed his hands as well, and streaked his hand across his reflection. He was going to have to learn to control what he was seeing, or come clean to Naruto at some point, that the blonde's secrets weren't really his own. He knew what he should do, but he couldn't risk Naruto running. Their new relationship might not survive the confession.

"Oh my god, just tell me his name," Sakura said as she sat across from Naruto in the cafeteria and he just rolled his eyes as he took a bite from his wrap.

"What, so you can stalk him on the internet?" Naruto muttered.

"You're so gross sometimes, at least swallow your food before you talk, and why on earth would I stalk him?" Sakura frowned.

"Dunno, maybe because you tried to stalk my friend Sai," he said, not even bothering to finish his bite like Sakura wanted him to.

"There was something clearly up with you two, and we're best friends, I gotta make sure you're okay," She huffed.

"I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself. Besides that, what the hell do you mean something was up?" he frowned sitting back as someone sat beside him.

"S'up bitches?" Kiba said as he sat down. It was uncanny how often his friends were able to meet up in variations of the group.

"Naruto won't tell me his boyfriend's name. Y'know, I'm starting to not believe you guys," Sakura said.

"Why does it even matter? It's not your business," Kiba muttered.

"See, not your business," Naruto said with a snort.

"Y'know that hurts that you can't even trust me," she said and Naruto's lip twitched.

"Yeah, it's super easy to trust you when you're constantly trying to break into my phone to find his contact info," Naruto said.

"Damn, Sakura, you need to chill out," Kiba said.

"And you need to stop stalking that Hyuuga girl," she shot back.

"Low blow," Kiba growled out.

"Her name's Hinata. She's real nice, shy, but nice," Naruto said.

"Why can I know her name, but not your boyfriend's? Really, does he actually exist, or are you just trying to get us off your back about you trying to find someone?" She said.

Naruto sighed and he looked her right in the eye for a moment. They had known one another for quite a while now. He remembered going to school with her before his parents died, and meeting up with her sometime after moving back to Konoha. They were close, but she was constantly butting into his love life. "Sakura, I don't even know if it's serious, and I'd rather introduce him when I know for sure," He lied, he already knew that their relationship was serious. He hated how easy it had become to lie to people he cared about, he really did.

Sakura's lip pursed before she sat back, "Then why has everyone else seen him, and I'm the only one out of the loop? It's not fair," she muttered.

"Kiba doesn't even know his name," Naruto rolled his eyes again.

"It starts with an S right?"

"You mean like Sai?" Sakura asked.

Naruto coughed a little, "Hah, Sai's not interested in guys," he wasn't really sure what Sai was interested in actually.

"Whatever, I'm going to get something to drink," She said leaving the table.

"Hey, you wanna head over to my place and take a look at that assignment we have for our English class?" Kiba asked.

Naruto's lip twitched, "I can't. I've gotta painting to finish for tomorrow, so after I'm done here I'm going to go hang with Sai and paint in the graveyard," He shrugged. Kiba was in the sciences, and like every other student on campus, he was forced to take introductory English composition courses. Kiba sucked at it, and had grabbed onto Naruto early on for help when Kiba found out he knew what he was doing.

"And your boyfriend doesn't mind?"

"Mind what? I'm sure he's got assignments due too. I don't have to be around him all the time," Naruto said with a frown. Truth was he hated how much school work seemed to get in the way of them hanging out.

"I mean you hanging out with Sai," he said honestly.

"Why the hell is everyone so caught up on Sai, you guys don't even know him," Naruto said, exasperated. Sai never came to the more crowded areas of campus.

"Well…you spend like almost all your time with him. I mean, I dunno, I thought he'd probably get jealous. You know Sakura thinks you two were sleeping together…or are sleeping together," He said.

Naruto choked on his food again, "Why on earth would anyone think that?" He said when he finally caught his breath. "We have all our art classes together, of course we spend a lot of time together. Besides, he's not into guys," Naruto said, frustrated.

"Whatever, it's not my business. I guess if he's straight, there wouldn't be an issue then," he shrugged.

Naruto was quiet a long moment, "Does she really think that?"

"You can be real dense sometimes," Kiba shrugged. "You used to talk about nothing but Sai before. Now that I think about it, even now, you talk about him more than you do your actual boyfriend, of course she's going to read too much into that."

Naruto stared down at the table and he sighed. "Yeah, well, Sai's a friend. I'm fully capable of being friends with guys without wanting to fuck them," Naruto said as he moved to stand up.

"Whatever dude, you know I don't give a fuck about shit like that," Kiba said, and Naruto felt a little bad for his outburst because he knew Kiba was pretty unbiased.

"Yeah, well apparently someone at this table does. I'm going to head out, I got a lotta shit to do. Catch you later," he said as he grabbed his bag.

"Later," Kiba said as Naruto walked away hearing Sakura's voice just briefly before he was out of earshot.

He really had no idea people might think that about him and Sai. He wondered if Sasuke might actually have an issue with him if he heard about him…then again, Sasuke was pretty logical and it shouldn't be a problem anyway. Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets as he made the brief walk to the art department and made his way to one of the back rooms filled with cheap furniture that people probably found in an alley somewhere. The room was littered with unfinished paintings and sculptures, and on one of the large metal easels was one of his paintings.

"Hey," Naruto said with a wave as he saw Sai sitting at his own easel, brush in hand.

"You took a long time," Sai said with an awkward smile and Naruto grinned.

"Yeah, ran into some friends. Sorry about that, I got you something," he said rummaging in his bag for

another wrap, probably made by students in whatever cooking program they had here.

"Thank you," Sai said, the smile not moving as he wiped the ink from his hands before accepting the wrap.

"No worries, now, let's do this shit," He said with a laugh before grabbing his art kit and began to set up. Creating white paintings with minimal colour was so difficult. He was hoping he'd be able to finish the 3x4 foot painting by the next day.

At least he'd have a few hours of peace, that's what he loved about the Graveyard. It was quiet unlike the studios.

"So what's her name?"

"I have no idea why you insist on being so unspecific. What are you blabbering about now?" Sasuke muttered as he held his phone to his ear with his shoulder. He was in the middle of straightening out his half of the dorm when his older brother had decided to bother him.

"You miss your nap today? You sound more grouchy than usual," Itachi said.

"Naps are for the weak," Sasuke muttered as he picked up one of his texts. He barely had time to sleep it seemed. It was either sleep or sacrifice spending time with Naruto, and he knew that wasn't going to happen. He wasn't exactly tired of the idiot, and he didn't expect that to happen.

"So, you have a girlfriend," Itachi tried again.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I promise you that I don't have a girlfriend."

"Boyfriend then, I was skeptical when dad told me you came out of the closet, especially since you've only ever been out with girls. What's his name?"

"Gender doesn't really mean anything to me," Sasuke muttered.

"Whore."

"Fuck you," Sasuke said annoyed. That was exactly why he never told anyone his sexual orientation, because people were always so god damn judgemental. Knowing Itachi though, he was probably only saying it to piss him off instead of actually believing it.

"You're dancing around the question. Spill, or I'll tell mother and she'll get it out of you," Itachi said calmly.

Sasuke sighed and thanked whatever Deity that existed that his roommate wasn't around. He just had to suffer with the fucker until the end of the year and he could apply for student housing. "What makes you think I'm with someone anyway?"

"Because you keep blowing off my calls saying you're going somewhere, and I know you have no friends," Itachi said and Sasuke could basically hear the smirk on his face.

"Remind me how old you are again, because I keep forgetting," Sasuke said as he finished and flopped down on his shitty single bed.

"You know I finally taught mom how to accept three way calls…"

"Naruto, okay?" Sasuke hissed.

"Isn't that the name of your imaginary friend?"

"I never had a fucking imaginary friend," Sasuke was getting ready to hang up, but the threat of his mother finding out kept him on the line.

"I remember differently, how'd you two meet?"

"Old friend, we saw each other in the cafeteria and hit it off, happy? If you tell mom I'll kill you," Sasuke muttered.

"Father would have you behind bars in a matter of hours, you're too sloppy to pull off a murder little brother."

"I hate you," Sasuke muttered.

"Tell me about him," Itachi just shrugged the comment off like he had heard it a million times, which to his credit, he had.

"He's blonde," Sasuke muttered hoping his roommate would return so he'd have an excuse to get out of this.

"Never saw blonde as your type before," Itachi said. "How long have you been dating?"

"A couple of weeks."

"Have you slept together?"

"Why on earth would you need to know that?" Sasuke barked at his phone.

"Sounds like Sasuke's still a virgin," Itachi chuckled low in his throat.

"I'm done with this conversation, I hope you fail your exams," Sasuke muttered and he hung up and just hoped that Itachi would go through with his threats. It wasn't that he was keeping Naruto or a secret or anything more than being cautious. He was hoping that maybe Naruto would agree to visit his family for a weekend over the winter holiday. He couldn't tell Itachi that though, or he'd go blabbing. Sasuke honestly feared the day that Itachi passed the bar.

He heard his phone vibrate and he grabbed it with a sigh, hoping it wasn't Itachi again. "What do you want?"

"Uh…it's me…"

"Naruto? Sorry, I didn't look, I thought it was my brother," Sasuke said rubbing at his eyes.

There was a laugh at the other end of the line. "I was wondering why you weren't answering my texts."

"What's up?"

"Uh…well, you have to come get me, I'm lost again," Naruto sounded a little sheepish.

"How often have you been here?"

"Uh, a lot?" Naruto mumbled and he heard some deep voices yelling in the background.

"And you still can't find your way here?"

"I can't help that I get turned around so easy you jerk face," sounded like Naruto was pouting. A smile tugged at Sasuke's lips as he rolled over with a breath. "You should just go to the front desk and sign in."

"But using my id card makes me feel like a super important secret agent or something!"

"A super important secret agent who can't find his way to a marked room?"

"You going to come get me or not?" there was a huff of breath on the other end of the line.

Sasuke snorted, "Tell me where you are moron," he said in an amused tone.

"Uh…well there's this painting here…looks really unbalanced and could use some serious colour neutralizing to be half way decent, unless that wa—"

"In English," Sasuke liked the fact that Naruto had become so artistic, but the blonde usually forgot that Sasuke knew almost nothing about art.

"Oh, uh it's a cubist naked lady,"

"How did you even get over there? That's three buildings away. That painting is creepy as hell," Sasuke muttered.

"Then come and save me from it," Naruto huffed.

"Coming," Sasuke said as he hung up and headed over to the building Naruto seemed to keep ending up in. It only took him a few short minutes to see Naruto waiting in front of the building with a small bag in his hand.

"Freedom!" He yelled out with a grin and he walked over to meet him.

"Hey," Sasuke said and when Naruto was within reaching distance, Sasuke hooked his hand at the base of his neck and pulled him forward for a chaste kiss.

Naruto's eyes slowly opened when Sasuke pulled back and there was a second of a dazed expression on the blonde's face before he slowly grinned. "Hey," He said. Sasuke loved that brief moment after every kiss when Naruto appeared to be most at peace.

"This way, moron," Sasuke said with a smirk as he headed toward the building he currently lived in. "See, it's one attached to the upper level of the library," He said pointing to the connecting hall.

"Riiiiight. You know when I go home I'm going to turn the wrong way when I get out the door, right? I'm hopeless," Naruto said with a snort.

"Maybe I should hang something in the window," Sasuke muttered as he sat down on the bed when they finally made it back to his room.

"Yes! I'm going to buy some glass markers and we're going to draw a fan on your window, that way dumb old me can figure it out.

"You're not dumb," Sasuke said as he leaned back against the wall and Naruto snorted softly.

"Uncoordinated then," He shrugged as he followed Sasuke to the bed and leaned against the wall before throwing his legs over Sasuke's lap.

"That much is probably true," He said reaching for his laptop. "I wasn't expecting you" he said, wondering what the reason for the visit was.

"Mn, well I figured you'd want some good food," He said holding up what he had brought, which Sasuke suspected was a lunch box wrapped in a scarf.

"Does that mean Iruka made it?" Sasuke said with a smirk. He hadn't actually met the man, but Naruto seemed to speak highly of him.

"It's just sandwiches okay? I made them," Naruto frowned. "Iruka's at work today anyway, and Kakashi's out," he said as he began to unfold the box.

Sasuke frowned as he set the laptop down on the bed with a cooler underneath it, ready to watch a movie like they usually did. "Kakashi…isn't that the name of your dad's friend?" He had only ever heard of him referred to as the old man so he had no idea that he could have been this Kakashi person.

"Hm? Oh, you remember that? Yeah, my dad mentored him," Naruto said as he took a very small triangle of bread and held it up to Sasuke's lips.

He awkwardly tipped his head back before he took a bite and nodded. "Mn, yeah, I remember," He said, trying to work through the anger he felt. "I thought that he abandoned you?" His fingers balled into a fist.

"Nah," Naruto said quietly. Sasuke could feel the blonde tense up as he took his own bite. He looked thoughtful. "I mean, I thought he did too, but there was a lot I didn't know back then," he shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, not so easily letting it go. "You said he would rather spend more time with his boyfriend, which I'm assuming was Iruka now since you've said they've been together forever."

"Well, Iruka is pretty amazing…No, I was mad when I said that, and Orochimaru was feeding me lies," Naruto paused and looked down to the sandwich in his hand and sighed heavily. "He didn't let me make phone calls unless I received a perfect score on a test or a paper…and when Kakashi tried to phone me he wouldn't take the call. He put up every roadblock he could even though Kakashi kept trying, but legally there was nothing he could do when Orochimaru denied him access to me and I had no real say in the matter because I didn't know…by the time I would have had any say in court or whatever I was busy hating him too much to want to stay with him…"

Sasuke watched Naruto quietly and he felt deeply saddened at the situation. Naruto had been denied the fundamental rights that every child should have had, and then some, but being isolated must have been one of the hardest things to face. He slid his arm around Naruto's shoulders and pulled him close until his lips pressed against the blonde's temple. "I'm glad you found your way back to each other," Sasuke said, remembering some of the stories Naruto had told him about Kakashi when his parents were alive.

Naruto had a small smile on his face at that as he rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder. "I think you'd like the old man, once you get over his weird quirks."

"Quirks?"

"He's a pervert mostly, and a little lazy," Naruto shrugged as he held another piece up for Sasuke to eat.

"Hmm," Sasuke thought over the prospect of meeting them, wondering how they really were. As it stood, Naruto still hadn't invited him over even though they lived ten minutes away.

"Your roommate gone for the weekend again?" Naruto asked

"Yeah, he said something about going for a family reunion before telling me not to touch his shit," Sasuke rolled his eyes, not knowing what could possibly attract him to the banal shit on the other side of the room.

Naruto laughed as he slumped down a little more, "Hm, my friend Hinata's at a family reunion too, that's funny. Y'know, I can't picture you stealing anything, ever."

"Only from Itachi, but the fucker deserves it," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto was quiet for a moment as he continued to feed the both of them. "I kind of want to meet him, anyone who can get under your skin this much has to be fun."

"I dread the day," Sasuke muttered quietly.

Naruto's arm hooked around Sasuke's neck and dragged him down. Their kiss lingered for a moment before Naruto pulled back with a smirk, "it's going to be glorious," he rasped.

"I don't know how I feel about you doing crap like that while talking about my brother," Sasuke said feeling warmth spread through him at the combination of Naruto's voice and his half lidded eyes.

"Aw, baby," Naruto said with a laugh, "So are we going to not watch something?"

"Right," Sasuke said, thankful for the distraction. They hadn't really discussed it, but it appeared to be a silent agreement that they were going to take things slowly.

"Let's do this," Naruto said with a grin as he settled down to watch whatever Sasuke had on hand, which wasn't much.

They didn't really pay attention to the movie for too long after it started before Naruto started talking about some of his art classes. Sasuke didn't really get most of the art terms he used, but he was glad to let the blonde go on about it. He was mostly picking apart the editing and lighting in the film, and some fancy French words that he swore he had heard before.

"Hey…" Sasuke said in the middle of Naruto pointing out something else.

"Hm?" Naruto turned his head to look at him before Sasuke pressed his lips against Naruto's. It took a brief moment before Naruto's body went slack against him and while the blonde was distracted with the slide of Sasuke's tongue against his lip, Sasuke slowly slid the lid of the laptop down to shut the noise off. "Oh…" He murmured when they pulled apart.

"I'm crazy about you…" Sasuke said. It wasn't something he thought he'd be admitting, but it was true. He had known he loved Naruto long before he met him, he knew he loved him now and if he thought he could say it without making things awkward, he would. It was true though, how Naruto's awareness seemed to fade away when he became immersed in the things he was passionate about. Even just picking apart a movie, it was one of the rare times he felt the blonde was truly letting his guard down.

Naruto just laughed into a short lock of the lips before he pulled away again. "I bet you're just mad that I ruined the movie," He said.

Sasuke, "Nothing like that," He promised before he felt Naruto's weight on top of him. The weight of the other man slowly coaxed his back to the bed. He groaned as he felt Naruto's teeth scrape lightly against his lip before the blonde enthusiastically placed open mouthed kisses along his neck. Sasuke's hands rested on Naruto's rib cage before dragging slowly downward, his fingertips catching on the fabric of Naruto's awful orange sweater that he seemed to love so much. His hands continued down to the waist of his pants before he hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, his mouth was teasing at Sasuke's throat. His eyes fluttered open as he felt Naruto's leg between his and he shook his head.

"Nothing," He muttered before his thumb caressed just under the hem of Naruto's shirt. The blonde didn't seem to question him after that, and instead took a moment to straddle his lap firmly. Naruto sat back and reached down to grab the bottom of his sweater. He was part way through pulling it over his head when a voice sounded from the door.

"I had a feeling you were Gay," the tone was monotone.

"Fuck you Neji, everyone knows that already…"Naruto frowned as his shirt fell back to his torso.

"Not you," it was his roommate.

"Fuck, you never told me Neji was your roommate!" Naruto said, all of a sudden red all the way up his neck and he slid off to the side until he was facing the other man.

"I didn't even know his name," Sasuke said, feeling beyond irritated at his roommate's presence. He was sure he'd heard his name before, but it didn't really matter to him so it wasn't information he decided to keep.

"You're rude, Sasuke," Naruto said, but he was clearly still looking mortified.

"I'm only here for a moment, I forgot a book I need," Neji said, acting like he hadn't just walked in on them in the slightest bit of a compromising moment. "I can see why you haven't told anyone who you're dating though," Neji muttered and Sasuke flipped him off before the comment registering.

"Fuck, did I do something to piss you off or something?" Naruto complained.

"No. I'm leaving. Naruto, if you fuck on my bed I'm going to strangle your boyfriend in his sleep," Neji said with his book in hand as he closed the door.

"Man, he can be a real jerk sometimes," Naruto muttered as he rolled over onto his stomach with a groan. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," he said confidently.

Sasuke stared at Naruto for a moment before slowly looking around the room as he thought the words over in his head. "You really won't tell them about me?" he asked, he was pissed, but he tried to reign it in.

"It's not like that," Naruto muttered, his face still pressed into the bed.

"Then what's it like," Sasuke demanded.

Naruto was silent.

"Well?"

"I'm not hiding you, they know I'm dating someone…it's just that when they find out, some of them are going to be all over you," he mumbled.

"All over me?"

"Yeah, they're going to find out your schedule, where you live, they're going to stalk the fuck out of you. I dunno if you're ready for that," He muttered.

Sasuke looked at Naruto before he laid quietly back. "It's going to happen at some point right?"

"Well yeah…I just thought we could have a nice quiet semester before all hell breaks loose," he said, peeking his head out from his arms to finally look at Sasuke.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?"

Sasuke watched him closely for a moment and noted that the flush on Naruto's skin had dissipated. "I want to meet your friends…"

"What about your friends? Can we do that first?"

"You met the closest thing I have to a friend two minutes ago, who I'm guessing you know already," Sasuke said.

"Yeaaaah, he's the cousin of a friend of mine," He shrugged.

"So, may I?"

Naruto 's teeth worried over his lip. "You sure you wanna do this? There's no going back," he said.

"Yes," Sasuke's expression didn't change.

Naruto sighed, "Don't say I didn't warn you…There's usually a few of us around the caf on Mondays at 1:30, you're free then, right?"

"I am," he nodded.

"Just head over, you'll see us," He said quietly.

"Is it really that bad?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto turned on his side just a bit and nodded. "You have no idea, feel lucky that only a few of em will be there. We'll try everyone else next weekend.

Sasuke nodded, "Monday then."

They were quiet a moment, just face one another. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah?" Sasuke's eyes slowly opened where they were previously resting shut.

"Let me stay here tonight?" He asked, almost sounding insecure.

Sasuke blinked before he hooked his arm around Naruto's side and shifted closer. "Sounds good," he murmured pressing his lips to Naruto's forehead before relaxing a bit more. He wasn't sure what happened afterward, they were asleep in moments.

TBC…

 

Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think~

OddlyEnded


	3. Chapter 2

_"This is your new home, child," Orochimaru's voice said, too calmly. The room was relatively small, with a single bed pushed against the wall. There was a cherry wood desk in the corner and a small shelf with only a couple of books. The walls were covered in floral wallpaper that had faded to yellow over the years, and visible just outside the window were a few spindly branches of an oak tree._

_"Looks boring…" Naruto said quietly before flushing, because he was sure someone was about to yell at him for being impolite. Instead of growing angry, a smile spread across those too wide lips._

_"I'm sure all will be well in here," Orochimaru said before gesturing toward the single bed._

_Naruto looked at him with a frown before he moved over and climbed on the bed, tucking one socked foot underneath himself. He had been told quite abruptly to keep his shoes off whenever in the house, as if Naruto would have kept them on in the first place. "You have rules right?" Naruto asked, because they always had rules._

_"Of course I do," the man said, his hand rested on top of Naruto's blonde hair before he started listing some of them off. They were fairly generic things that every child that age probably would have been told, with the exception of one. "I'm going to bring your things up, and when I do you'll put them away, understood?"_

_Naruto nodded, "Yeah."_

_"Yes."_

_"Yes…" Naruto's head ducked._

_"I will prepare dinner, you will not wander around the house until you are called for, do I make myself clear?" He said, hand now on Naruto's face._

_"I gotta stay in here?" Naruto's voice was laced with distaste._

_"Do you take issue with that?" He asked._

_Naruto had to sit quietly and think over the wording of the sentence before he got it, and he decided to shake his head quietly, "No…" he murmured because it seemed like a smart choice. Naruto had been forced to know what battles to pick, because back at the home there was always someone stronger than you._

_"Good boy, we will have guests tonight. I expect you to be on your best behaviour, Sasuke," Sasuke? That wasn't right…_

_"Sasuke!"_

The dream began to dissipate as Sasuke came back into consciousness. It was dark in the room, but even then it was easy to identify Naruto's blue eyes. The blonde was staring down at him which explained the weight on his chest. The room was only illuminated with the campus lights filtering through the window.

"M'up," he groaned out, pinching the bridge of the nose, all of a sudden furious again. He was always angry it seemed. He wanted to find that man, he wanted to find him and rip his head from his body himself and he had no idea how to deal with those feelings.

"You were dreaming," Naruto said softly. Sasuke just noticed Naruto's fingers brushing calmly through his hair before his lips pressed against his forehead. It made him feel a little better. Whatever damage the man had done, he hadn't completely destroyed Naruto.

"Yeah," he breathed out. Before Naruto could pull back, Sasuke's arm hooked around the blonde's shoulders and dragged him down until he rested firmly on top of him. "That was a bad one," he admitted. Any dream he was forced to observe as if he were in Naruto's head were bad dreams.

Naruto bit his lip before he rested his head down. "Sasuke? You still dream…so do you dream of things that aren't me?"

"What do you mean?" He wondered if maybe he may have an opportunity to come clean about these memories he seemed to be reliving.

"I haven't had a dream in a long time. I mean, sometimes I do, but they're usually uh…nonsensical? You're always in them though, ever since…"

"Ever since I fell into your world," Sasuke supplied.

"Yeah. What were you dreaming of?" he asked.

Sasuke's mouth opened and he was going to tell the truth, but he thought of Neji's rude interruption. Naruto was hiding him for some reason, he wasn't sold on the reason Naruto gave him. He was hiding him, and that must mean that Naruto still wasn't sure about them. Instead of admitting his dream, he said, "Snakes, I was dreaming of snakes…"

"Snakes are pretty awful," Naruto said quietly.

"The worst," Sasuke said, his left hand resting on the back of Naruto's neck as his other arm fell above his own head.

"I'm here to protect you, so don't worry," Naruto said with a hum, and he felt Naruto's lips on his chest through the fabric of his shirt.

"Good," he breathed out. Sasuke wished that his own protection was the problem.

"You know, I used to dream of us as Ninja," he laughed gently. "Pretty dumb, huh?"

Sasuke looked up at the ceiling, "Village of the hidden leaf."

Naruto sat up and looked down at him. "Yeah…did I tell you already?"

Sasuke shook his head. They never talked about this, they had gone on like they were normal people. Naruto seemed to like being normal. It honestly was something Sasuke hated, because whenever he felt normal, Naruto seemed to not be in his life. "I left everyone…I was a pretty shitty person," he said.

"I dunno," Naruto started. "I don't think I would have chased after you if you were."

"Maybe you were naïve in that place."

"Maybe you were important to me regardless, seems like a weird grey area," Naruto murmured.

"Maybe…." He saw a lot of this life his dreams had fabricated. Sometimes they were linear, and spoke of a terribly fucked up life neither of them had anything, other times they were really poetic, impressions he couldn't quite get a hold of, they were just him and Naruto but he couldn't even describe the beautiful and sometimes terrible images he saw. Now that he thought about it though, he always dreamed of Naruto, sometimes he even dreamed of only his hands moving as if they were a dance.

"These pants are awful," Naruto muttered before pulling away. He pulled his sweater over his head before he wiggled clumsily out of his pants and laid back down clad in nothing but a pair of boxers with a bunch of swirls on them.

"What time is it?"

"Three, I guess," he shrugged. They were quiet for a long time before Naruto spoke again. "You know…I wonder if that place is another life or something, or maybe just another universe altogether."

"Maybe, seems pretty farfetched though," Sasuke said with a snort.

"I don't know…I don't think people would believe what we've seen...besides, I like the thought of being made for you," He said softly.

Sasuke was silent after that. He had never thought of it that way. He didn't like to think of fate, but at the same time, he was so sure he felt the same way about Naruto. He knew what it was to be loved, he had dreamed it, he had felt it. Somewhere deep inside of him, he knew it was Naruto, and he knew that there would never be anyone else for him.

"You don't feel the same way…" Naruto said quietly, and he moved to sit up again, but Sasuke stopped him from escaping.

"I do," He confirmed.

Naruto laughed and he rolled toward the wall after stretching. "Whatever, pretty heavy talk for how many weeks is it now? Don't think about it too much," Naruto said.

Sasuke looked at Naruto's back before he hesitantly rolled so he was comfortably pressed against Naruto's back. He wondered briefly if the blonde scared himself when he spoke. "Four, four weeks" He supplied pressing a kiss to the nape of Naruto's neck only to find the blonde tensing up.

"Guess that is a long time for you to have not met my friends," he admitted, and the tension didn't fade until he turned around and looked at Sasuke.

"If it's really that big a deal, I don't have to," He said, but he didn't like that idea.

"Nah, whatever," Naruto shrugged with a yawn. "If Shikamaru's there, you probably want to stick close to him though. I can't see you getting along with most of the others," he shrugged. "I reserve the right to say I told you so later," he said, his voice drifting off.

"Tired?" He asked.

"Mhmm," he nodded.

"Sorry for waking you," Sasuke said ready to go back to sleep himself.

"Was already up," He admitted but was asleep short moments later.

He watched Naruto for only a moment before closing his eyes too. It had probably been the most intimate moment they had had so far. Naruto acted so free and open all the time without actually saying anything, it was amazing how it was an effective wall between them. Sasuke wasn't sure how to even start bringing it down.

* * *

Naruto quietly watched as Sasuke moved around the cramped dorm room, gathering a few of his things. The blonde yawned and he laid back down on the bed, hiding most of his face in Sasuke's single pillow that he had admittedly stolen in his sleep. Naruto had always known Sasuke was an attractive person, he had been more at conflict with it when he didn't know Sasuke was someone who lived and breathed. He was definitely at conflict with it when he was trying so hard to figure out whether Sasuke was attractive, or he was attracted to him. He had grown up really, really well.

"What?" Sasuke muttered, maybe not a morning person.

Naruto stretched a little. "Nothing…" He muttered to himself and hid his face fully in the pillow for a moment, briefly contemplating on what introducing Sasuke to his friends meant. They were crazy, every single one of them, and so very likely not the type of people Sasuke would want to hang around with on a daily basis. He twisted his lip with his teeth before he finally resurfaced for a breath of refreshing air instead of the muggy collection of oxygen in the pillow. That kind of thought lead to the question of why Sasuke was attracted to him in anyway, of course they had fun growing up, but why? His head hurt, thinking about all this crap, so he decided to shut his brain off a bit.

"Well, you're staring," Sasuke said and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Do you have a point, or are you going to narrate my life for the day?" Naruto huffed.

"Moron."

"Jerk-face," Naruto said and a smile spread over his face when he saw the corner of Sasuke's lip quirk upward. It felt comfortable, even when they were being downright rude to one another, it was nice, it didn't hurt like a lot of other things did. He still had a hard time pinning down the things that made Sasuke happy, he was so damned difficult to read sometimes.

"I'm not used to being a spectacle," He said as he pulled a clean shirt on over his torso, a casual shirt at that.

"Yeah right," Naruto scoffed. Sasuke was beautiful, there wasn't really another way to put it. Well, okay, maybe a few other ways, he was sexy beyond belief. They were such a fucking mismatch of a couple, Naruto wasn't attractive at all, at least, he really didn't feel like it. Sakura liked to tell him otherwise, but she had a horrible taste in everything so he didn't know how to feel.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke didn't even look at him and Naruto rolled his eyes again even though Sasuke couldn't see him.

"What's that supposed to mean? What do you think it's supposed to mean?" he was kind of sad that Sasuke had finally decided to throw on a shirt. There was such a wonderful definition to the muscles in his back, it was a crime to hide it away.

"Can't you just answer me? Or are you incapable of collecting your thoughts well enough to coherently present them?" Sasuke muttered.

"Oh, big words so early in the morning," they weren't really, Naruto imagined pretty much everyone knew how to use those words, they just chose not to on a daily basis. His eyes fell to Sasuke's lip, they were thin and a soft rosy pink and he sighed as he gathered the defined angles of the man's face, and he found himself wondering who he took after, his father or his mother. "You're really attractive…people must be staring at you all the time," Naruto said out loud, and briefly wondered if it was a bad idea. Sasuke's ego might get too big if he admitted it out loud.

"You think so?" Sasuke gathered the books and put them into his book bag.

"Why wouldn't I?" They were together, weren't they? Sasuke made no sense. Sasuke looked at him and he leaned over the bed and Naruto could feel the warmth spread through him as he felt the intended kiss coming. Naruto immediately shot his hand out and stopped Sasuke's face with the palm of his hand, his fingers gripped on his face lightly.

"Wh't'r you d'ng?" Sasuke said words effectively muffled, before growling and slapping at his hand away from his face.

"Morning breath," Naruto huffed. "Go brush your teeth, you butt," there was a dumb grin on his face.

"You're a child," Sasuke said plainly.

"You think so?" he parroted Sasuke's previous words before he felt Sasuke's hand swat at his thigh and he let out a laugh. "Hey, Sasuke?"

"Hm?" He dug around one of his drawers and pulled out a towel.

"You got any pictures of your family?" He asked.

"Probably," he shrugged. Naruto sighed, he always had his parents on display, and he forgot that other people didn't share the same feelings he had sometimes.

"Oh…" he said and he rolled onto his back, folding his arms behind his head. They were quiet for a few minutes before he felt something lightweight hit his chest and he frowned.

"They're right there," He said before he went to the door. "I'm going to shower, I've got other towels if you want to head to the commons," He said.

Naruto's lip twisted and he shook his head, "Nah, I'll wait around here," he said. There were far better places to shower than a shared bathroom, that sounded unappealing.

"Suit yourself," Sasuke said. Naruto sighed, Sasuke wouldn't understand his reasoning.

He pushed the thought aside and rolled back onto his stomach, his shoulder hitting the wall as he held the photo in front of his face. His lip parted slightly as he looked over the photograph, they all looked so stiff, so perfectly posed. If Naruto remembered correctly, it was likely because of Sasuke's father. He tipped his head as he looked over the faces in the photo, Sasuke and who he was assuming was Itachi definitely looked like their mother. He smiled quietly and wondered what his mother was like, he never really spoke of her often other than the fact that she was more accommodating that his father. They were a very attractive looking family. Naruto laid there staring at the photo for probably too long a time before he decided to carefully place the photo on the desk. That required a lot of crawling and stretching to get it safely out of his fingers. When it was he flopped down on the bed and groaned, he probably had shit to do today and quickly decided it would be a very bad idea to just head home without telling Sasuke first, so he waited.

"You fall back to sleep?" Sasuke's voice sounded from the door and Naruto lifted his head…boy, had that been a bad idea.

"No, once I'm up, I'm up," He said with a huff. He hadn't really gone back to sleep last night, at least, not for a very long time after Sasuke had. He congratulated himself on being able to speak, even though the sentence was a poor one…Sasuke had walked back in with nothing but a towel around his waist. His parents would definitely not be proud about the thoughts running through his head.

"I'd figure you'd be one to jump at every chance for a little shuteye," He said as he rummaged around for a pair of pants, since he already had a shirt picked out.

"Mn…no," Naruto said quietly. Dreaming had been a safe place once, not any longer. Sasuke didn't need to know that though. "So…you probably have papers to write, hm?"

"Yeah, I've got one due on Wednesday, and another next Monday," He said quietly.

"Probably got a lot of research to do…make it all nice and whatever," words, what were words? Especially when Sasuke looked like that.

"And you've likely got a lot of paintings to finish up," Sasuke mused.

Naruto cursed inwardly and he buried his face in the pillow. "Fuck…yeah, I do," He muttered. "And drawings, and sculptures, and one last paper I think," He said quietly.

"You should manage your time better," Sasuke said.

"It's not that easy," Naruto growled out and threw the pillow at Sasuke who was buttoning his pants.

"Cute," Sasuke said in that tone that would probably make anyone else feel insignificant.

"It isn't! It's not like stupid papers, there isn't any sort of formula to plug into your brain and then, poof, there's your inspiration," He said his arms waving around to illustrate his point. "Ugh…I should probably spend my weekend in the graveyard figuring out what the fuck to do for my final pieces," he said, mostly to himself.

"What the fuck is the graveyard? Please don't tell me you're one of those artists," Sasuke said.

Naruto blinked and he sat up only to find a pillow in his face. "God damn it Sasuke!" He growled, like he hadn't thrown it first. Sasuke just smirked at him. "The Graveyard, is where paintings and artwork go to die!" He said with a snort. He forgot that not everyone knew what they called the room.

"Then why the hell would you want to go there?" Sasuke said, his brow arched. Thank fuck he had a shirt on now, or Naruto might not be able to contain himself.

"Well…y'know…it's more like a storage area. There's a lot of limited space in the studios, so for the things that don't fit there's a concrete room on the bottom floor of the art department where people keep their things. It's called the graveyard because at the end of the year, anything that people don't pick up gets trashed, or recycled."

"I didn't know you could recycle things that had already been mucked up with paint and shit," Sasuke said.

"Well, I mean more like Canvas gets reused, because that shit's expensive, and really annoying to make," He said. He liked making canvas frames himself though, it was peaceful.

"I still don't know why you go there," Sasuke said with a frown.

Naruto let out a big heavy sigh, "Because it's quiet down there. The studios this time of year are all probably packed filled with dumb ass people like me trying to finish up their work. It's a lot easier when there's maybe one or two other people in the Graveyard that you can spread out and actually hear yourself think," He said.

"That makes more sense," Sasuke said as he sat on the edge of the bed, hovering over him.

"Yeah, I should probably head there soon if I hope to get anything done," Naruto said quietly. "And you probably have to get to the library or something."

"What, is there no time to at least grab something to eat?" Sasuke said and Naruto felt like he was getting closer.

"Well, no…we could," he mumbled, feeling that heat creep up his neck again and he reached up to block Sasuke's face before he got to close.

"What now?" Sasuke said, his hand firmly on Naruto's wrist, locking it in place and he frowned.

"My morning breath," He said with a huff.

"Don't care," He said before he found Sasuke's lips on his own and he relaxed into it easily enough. Kisses from Sasuke always seemed to effectively turn his brain off, even with the morning breath.

Naruto's eyes opened a moment after and Sasuke's eyes were firmly trained on his face. His lip twisted and he let out a soft breath and smiled. Sasuke always seemed to be watching him, something about it made him stupidly happy. "So, I heard this breakfast thing is fucking delightful," Naruto said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes this time and bent over the edge of the bed to grab something. "Yeah, something like that," He said before throwing Naruto's pants at him. He forgot he had taken them off.

"Oh my god, I could go for pancakes right now, like a million of them," He said as he finally stood and pulled his pants on, almost tripping over his own feet in the process.

"Gross," Sasuke said.

"You have terrible taste," Naruto said with a frown.

"I'm not getting into this argument again," Sasuke said as he threw on a thick sweater and Naruto pulled his own on.

"You're just mad because I'm right, jerk," Naruto said, they had discussed Ramen in this fashion several times.

"You're dreaming, moron," Sasuke said as they shuffled out of the room. Sasuke's hand closed around his immediately and the impending cold of outside didn't seem so bad anymore. He wondered what he'd done to deserve Sasuke.

* * *

Naruto couldn't get a grip on his nerves if he tried when Monday morning came around. Really, he probably should have been nervous for other reasons, like the art critique he had that morning, in fact, he hadn't even been to sleep because he liked to cut his art projects down to the wire. Art work wasn't really done until it felt right…or you fucking ruined it. It was somewhat after noon when he walked down the steps toward the caf with his hand rubbing at the back of his neck. He had waited around the art room with Sai for a little while before heading off. He knew that if he gave it 15 minutes, the rush in the cafeteria from all the art classes letting out would be over. Students came in waves, whenever classes let out there would be a good thirty students filter through. It was most of the reason Sai never came to eat with him, it was hard to hear one's self in all this mess, but it was the best place to see his friends since they were all split into a bunch of different Majors and Minors.

He made his way through the doors and it didn't take too long to spot Sakura's bright hair. He sucked in a deep breath before he headed toward the concession area to grab something simple to eat. He usually tried to make something himself, but he spared no time at all last night for anything but painting. He was glad he didn't see Sasuke around, honestly, he was kind of hoping that he'd forget.

He could hear their conversation all the way from the till, "I dunno, he looked like an asshole to me. Why do you even care?" Kiba said before he saw Naruto and nodded, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Because he won't tell me anything, and you're the only who knows his name!" Naruto really hoped they weren't talking about what he thought they were.

"Maybe he doesn't want you to know, ever think of that? Besides, you overestimate how much I give a shit about who he's going out with," Kiba said, which really just confirmed the entire damn thing.

"I dunno, you seemed pretty jealous over me when you met him," Naruto said with a laugh as he sat down across from Sakura.

"Who would be jealous over your ugly face?" Kiba said with a snort.

"Are you kidding? It's tragic that he's gay. He grew up sooo good," Sakura said. Naruto's lip twitched at the comment, she never seemed to get tired of telling him how awkward he looked before he grew into his body.

"Calm down ladies," Naruto put on a grin, trying to brush off the stupid shit they said that might have bothered him. Kiba simply flipped him off. "Besides, he's meeting me here after his class if you're still around," secretly hoping they wouldn't be, but he knew he wouldn't be that fortunate. Sasuke was still kind of mad that Naruto hadn't told anyone about him, he could sense it in the way Sasuke responded to his calls and texts, he really couldn't explain his reasoning behind his actions regarding his friends. Kiba would probably be fine if he could keep his stupid mouth shut. As much as he loved Sakura, she was still some high school version of herself instead of maturing. She didn't really do too well when she was single. He figured that she was probably pretty reliant on her parents and therefor was looking for someone else to depend on. If she could move out, it would probably do wonders for her.

"Yes! I'm so excited! What's his name again? Sakura said leaning over the table with a pretty smile on her face.

"I think we determined that it started with an S," Kiba said, apparently still not remembering.

"Right, Naruto still hasn't clued us in," Sakura stuck her tongue out before she sat back and continued to eat.

Naruto just shrugged and rested his cheek on the table.

"That's your problem Sakura, you're too hung up on gay guys, if you want a boyfriend, you're going to have to stop that," Kiba said.

"I like this one guy though, in my English class. He's beautiful," She said with a flush on her cheeks that matched her hair.

"Because that's what guys want to be called," Kiba rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you just talk to him then?" Naruto asked.

"He's so stoic…I can't get a read on anything he does," She said and started playing with the ends of her hair. It was down to her mid back, Naruto was surprised she wasn't complaining about it since she liked to keep it short. "We're paired up for a presentation, so…maybe we can make plans to study or something, maybe then. I am 100% positive that he doesn't have a girlfriend though," She said sounding suddenly optimistic.

"Do you know his name?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke," she said with a smile and Naruto froze.

Kiba let out a loud obnoxious laugh and the sinking feeling in Naruto's gut just worsened because he knew Kiba remembered Sasuke's name now. Kiba slammed down his drink loudly, "Sasuke huh? I think you're right, he absolutely doesn't have a girlfriend!" He leaned back, still laughing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura was growing louder and Naruto shrunk down in his seat. He had hoped Kiba wouldn't have clued into the name, he was a little dense with any sort of name that didn't belong to body parts and biology shit like that.

"How do you not know?" Kiba was trying to contain himself and was failing.

"Naruto?" Oh god, not now…it was Sasuke's voice. Naruto could pick it out of a crowd of millions, so deep and distinct.

He cleared his throat, "Uh...yeah," He sat up, hoping that the heat spreading up his neck was colourless.

"You didn't answer my text," He said as he tossed his bag into a free seat and leaned over Naruto. He sounded kind of pissed, probably about the text thing, but damn it, Naruto had more pressing matters.

The blonde glanced toward Sakura who had dropped her fork in horror as Sasuke's lips pressed against his in a chaste kiss. "Uh, yeah, sorry about that…" His voice just barely came out and he laughed nervously. "Sasuke, this is Kiba and Sakura…" he said while keeping his eyes on Sakura.

"It's not fair!" She shrieked and leaned over the table again to grasp his collar. "Why didn't you say anything? Kiba, you're a dick!" She growled.

"Why the fuck would I have anything to say? I don't know your life!" Kiba he said holding up his arm when she went to slap at his shoulder.

"What the hell is going on?" Sasuke's voice didn't raise, but it still commanded nearly all the attention. Sasuke had that kind of effect on people. His presence was crazy.

"So…this is relatively normal, just more people sometimes…" Naruto said, still laughing nervously.

Sakura groaned and Naruto knew why when Ino set her purse on the table. "Oh, he's really cute. I'm Ino, what's your name?" She said with a light smile, choosing to sit right next to Sasuke as she leaned in far too close for Naruto's taste.

He was about to say something when Kiba started talking. Might have been for the better, because he was sure he might have said something rude. "You know how Naruto has a boyfriend?" Kiba started…well maybe he should have spoken first, he didn't know.

"Sasuke," the raven supplied, cutting Kiba off. Naruto let out a sigh of relief that Sasuke wasn't running, and he wasn't backing down.

"Nice to meet you," Ino said, her smile still pleasant before she winked in Naruto's general direction and he felt like dying. "Wait a second…Sakura, hey! Forehead!" She yelled until Sakura looked at her, clearly annoyed. "Isn't that the name of your presentation partner?"

"No…" Sakura sank down.

"Oh my god, it is! That's so funny!" She said, starting to laugh as she covered her mouth, probably to cover the single crooked tooth she seemed so self-conscious about.

"Seriously, what's going on?" Sasuke was starting to sound annoyed.

"I'll tell you later…" Naruto said quietly but Sakura heard him.

"You're not telling him anything, Naruto! I have dirt on you, I'm not afraid to use it!" She said with a frown.

"You've got nothing!" which was a horrible lie on account of the fact that they had become so close in high school, and the fact that his first actual kiss was with her. Fuck he really hoped she didn't say anything about that.

"I do too! What about Sai?" That…was even worse.

"I have no idea what you're getting on about."

"Who's that?" Sasuke frowned.

"No one knows, Sakura thinks they're sleeping together," Kiba shrugged.

"Oh my god, never!" Naruto slapped his hand over his face. He was going to kill Kiba. "Sakura wants to do the nasty with you," Naruto said, angry enough now especially after seeing Sasuke so stiff at Kiba's confession.

"That sounds fascinating," Sasuke didn't even seem fazed by it.

"You're such an ass!" Sakura said as she got up, preparing to leave, her face completely red now.

Ino was still laughing, "You're too sensitive, I'm sure Sasuke's aware he's attractive, I don't know why you're mad. 10 out of 10 would bang him too," She said, not at all shy about any of the dumb shit she said. Sakura probably hadn't heard any of it since she was already near the exit.

"Ugh…today sucks," Naruto muttered.

"Oh, whatever, she's such a baby. I'll go calm her down," Ino said reaching for her purse before she put on a flirty smile when she turned to Sasuke. "Don't be a stranger, 'kay?" she said, and all he did was raise his eyebrows to indicate he had heard her, but wasn't really amused.

Naruto stared at Ino and he sighed, Ino was going to do anything but calm her down. He hadn't met her until just this year, but he had heard countless stories from Sakura about how awful she could be to Sakura. "So yeah…that's Ino and Sakura," He said, throat incredibly dry.

"That was pretty harsh man," Kiba said and Naruto glared at him firmly. As if Kiba could say anything after bringing up the entire Sai misunderstanding that people seemed to love focusing on.

"Go to hell," Naruto said before he turned to Sasuke. He had been completely aware of the fact that Sasuke had been staring at him, his gaze didn't waver at all. He was looking for answers, like Naruto knew how to give them. "What? You wanted to meet them," he muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba said, and he felt the man's foot hit his shin and he cursed.

"You looking for a beating Kiba?" He growled.

"Maybe I do understand," Sasuke said.

"All it took was a few minutes, told you so," Naruto muttered and he looked toward the exit.

"Who's Sai?" Sasuke asked him.

"Some guy in a few of my classes," Naruto said distracted before he looked back to Kiba. "I should go talk to her…"

"Yeah, about five minutes ago," Kiba said.

His lip twisted and he sat there another moment. "She's fine, once you get to know her," Naruto said.

"I'll take your word for it," Sasuke said reaching in his bag for something to eat.

"For the record, she crossed a line too. Don't even get me started on you, you're lucky I don't break your face," Naruto pointed at Kiba. Sakura would have brought up Sai if Kiba hadn't so Naruto was still pissed with her.

"Fuck off, like I care," Kiba shrugged as he finished the last of his sandwich.

"Play nice," Sasuke muttered, he was looking down at a handout from one of his classes.

"I'll be right back," Naruto said as he moved to slip passed Sasuke's chair, purposefully messing with the raven's hair as he walked by, hoping that maybe a little lightheartedness might be enough to cure the situation. All he heard from the table was Kiba asking what Sasuke was studying. Kiba could make a lot of things worse, but he rarely tried to, Naruto was thankful for that much.

It didn't take too long to find Sakura and Ino tucked away in a corner away from the areas usually crowded with people. "Hey," He said as he walked up with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Go away," Sakura muttered. Much to her credit, it didn't look like she was crying. Naruto probably would have had absolutely no idea what to do if she was

"It wasn't even that big of a deal," Ino said, she had been pushing Sakura's hair back from her forehead even though she spent most of her time making fun of it.

"Hey Ino, could you give us a minute?" Naruto asked.

"Oh fine," She said before a smile spread across her face. "I'm going to go hit up your boyfriend," She said, her hand resting on his shoulder and trailed down his arm when she walked passed him.

"Go right ahead," Naruto said with a shrug now that he knew Sasuke probably had negative interest in her.

"You're no fun, " Ino pouted.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto muttered with a shrug as he heard her hard heeled boots clicking on the ground toward the cafeteria.

"You're an asshole," Sakura said, her face red with anger this time. She could be kind of scary when she got passed her moments of insecurity.

"Sorry," Naruto said with a sheepish quirk to his face as he sat down only to have her shift an inch away.

"Yeah, well you're not forgiven," She muttered.

"You know he doesn't care right? I mean, he's probably not even thinking about it," Naruto said.

"That's supposed to make me feel better, that I'm completely insignificant? I mean god, I don't care that he's your boyfriend, but now I'm absolutely nothing?" She said, working herself up.

"No, all I mean is, if you're worrying about what he thinks about you, I'm pretty sure his impression is still pretty neutral. I mean, come on, who could be a bigger dumbass than me? He likes me just fine," Naruto nudged her with his shoulder. It took a moment, but she crossed her arms and with a ducked head she nudged him back.

"You two really are a mismatch," She said.

Naruto let out a laugh, "I know, right?" He said, even though it kind of felt shitty that someone else agreed with his own feelings.

"Do you guys have a class together?" She asked.

"Nah, we've known each other for a while. We kind of lost contact, and I dunno…I met him here and we hit it off?" He didn't even know how to begin lying about how they met.

"That sounds kind of cute. I wish I had a boyfriend that was a friend," She said, tipping her head.

"Y'know, if you'd just accept Lee's offer…" Naruto trailed off.

"Lee? No, he's really just a friend," Sakura said quietly.

"I guess," Naruto kind of wished she'd just tell him that then. "Is that a new shirt?" He asked. He actually had no idea. It looked just like everything else she wore.

"This thing?" She pulled at her shirt, giving Naruto a clear shot down her shirt. He hated it when she did that, she was so oblivious to it too. "Yes, actually, Ino and I went shopping in celebration of finishing the last of our midterms," She said with a smile.

"You look really good in it," Naruto said, knowing that she'd probably like to hear it.

Sakura looked at him finally before she smiled and she leaned against his shoulder, "Fine, you're forgiven," She said with a heavy sigh. "You're a terrible liar by the way, you had no idea about the shirt," She muttered.

"What makes you say that?" on the contrary, Naruto was too good of a liar for his own taste.

"I can just tell," She said with a shrug.

"Hey, Sakura?"

"Hm?" She said, sitting up fully.

"Can I tell you something?"

"We've known each other for how long now?" She said, brow arched.

"I dunno, forever?" he said.

"Since we were like, four. Of course you can tell me anything," She said.

"I really like Sasuke…" He said quietly.

"Ugh, you're so cute," She muttered. "I'm single as fuck…" she muttered. The curse sounded so weird on her lips. She was usually as proper as she could manage.

"Not, cute," He muttered and she just pinched his cheek. He hated that too. "Yeah, anyway…There isn't anything between me and Sai, and there never will be," he said quite firmly.

"Are you sure?" She asked and he sighed.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Can you stop bringing him up like that? Sasuke doesn't need to be worried about someone I'm pretty sure is straight anyway," he said.

"What, you mean you don't even know?" She said, shifting onto her knees as she swatted at his arms. "You've been telling me he was straight forever, and now you don't even know?"

"Not even the point! It doesn't friggen matter if he likes dick or not, because there's nothing going on, so can you not?" he said, irritated.

"Fine, whatever. You figure your relationship out yourself, I gotta figure my non-existent one out anyway," she said as she stood up.

He heard a beep and he looked down to his phone to see a text from Sasuke. He frowned and opened it.

\- When I said I wanted to meet your friends, I didn't want to spend this much time with them.

\- …alone.

Naruto smiled dumbly and responded with something simple.

\- Told you so.

He added a heart at the end.

"That's from Sasuke isn't it? Oh my god, you just got the cutest smile on your face," She said leaning over his shoulder to look at the text, her cheek pressed right against his for a brief second.

"Personal bubble, woman," he said closing his phone only to have her throw her arms around his shoulder.

"What was that?" She asked.

"You heard me," He said before his arm rested on her shoulder blade a moment.

"Come on, let's get you back to your sinfully gorgeous boyfriend. You two together is a crime, I swear," She said and Naruto just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I better go save him from Ino," he said with a shrug.

"Agree to that," Sakura said as they headed back up the stairs to the cafeteria, hearing the woman in question almost immediately.

"No shit? I knew I recognized you," She said loudly and Naruto saw her slap his shoulder. He could see Sasuke's lip twitching even though he was turned away from them.

"Why would I joke?" He said.

"Naruto! Guess what?"

"I dunno, but I bet you're going to tell me," he said as he sat back down, feeling a little heat creep up his neck when Sasuke's hand closed around his under the table.

"Sasuke and I have a couple of classes together. He's always so quiet though. You think I'd remember a face like that," she said as she sat back.

"What are you planning to do when you're done?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm actually pre-me right now like Forehead over there. My dad wants me to take some CRIM classes, just in case I change my mind," She said with a shrug. "My dad's in the business, best homicide investigator they have," she said with a smile.

"I have a name," Sakura frowned.

"Yeah? My dad's chief of police back home," Sasuke said.

"His brother's going to be a Lawyer too," Naruto said going to take a sip of his forgotten soup.

"It's cold by the way," Sasuke said referring to the soup, and Naruto pouted quietly when the mouthful he took proved Sasuke right.

"You have a brother? I would bet anything that he's just as good looking as you," she said with a hum.

"Doubtful," Sasuke snorted.

"They look alike if that's what you mean," Naruto supplied, very careful not to admit that Itachi was one attractive man.

"Oh man, is he single?" She asked.

"Don't know, don't care," Sasuke said firmly.

"I think you should be asking whether he's legal first, you don't even know how old he is," Naruto said.

"Oh, whatever, you said he's going to be a lawyer, that pretty much confirmed it," She said waving him off.

"Did it though?" Naruto said. "Hey Kiba, we still on for Thursday?" Naruto asked before he forgot.

"Yeah, maybe I can actually get a good grade on this one," he said.

"What's Thursday?" Sasuke asked.

"Study group, I gotta hold Kiba's hand through this class, he's hopeless," Naruto rolled his eyes, wondering if he saw a smile at the corner of Sasuke's lip.

"You're so rude," Sakura said, flicking his forehead and he just grinned.

"No, no, he's right," Kiba said. "I'm dumb when it comes to all that…citation bullshit and just…no," he said as he stared down at his phone.

"Told you," Naruto said to Sakura.

"Hey, Sasuke, you doing anything this weekend?" Kiba said while not even looking up. Naruto's stomach dropped again.

"Shouldn't we all be doing something this weekend?" Sasuke asked since it was the last week of school the week following.

"Whatever man, I'm having a thing at my place. Naruto's com'n, you should too," He said finally looking up.

"Who said I was?" Naruto huffed.

"Me," Kiba shrugged. "Don't chicken shit out on me now," Kiba said.

"I'll think about it," Sasuke shrugged.

"You really should, have you even seen a drunk Naruto yet? It's quite honestly the best thing ever," Sakura said.

"You're all fuck'n liars," Naruto said, sinking in his chair.

"Can't say that I have," his brow lifted as he looked down at Naruto and the blonde had a definitive sense of fear now.

"If Naruto's going, I'm going," Ino said.

"On second thought, don't show up," Kiba said with a frown.

"Fuck you," Naruto muttered and Kiba just laughed.

"You're just mad because he'll be stealing all the attention," Sakura said.

"Sasuke would probably steal some too," Ino said with a smirk.

Naruto just rubbed at his eyes, "I have no idea what you're talking about," He muttered.

"Yeah, maybe you could not show up Sasuke," Kiba said.

"Like you could even talk to Hinata without my help, and I'm sure as fuck not going by myself," Naruto said.

"I could too," Kiba huffed.

"Keep dreaming," Naruto said. "Is she even going to be there?

"Uh, about that…I was wondering if maybe you could ask her if she wanted to hang?" Kiba asked sheepishly.

Naruto just smirked and he leaned back and looked to Sasuke even though he had no idea who she was. "Yeah, I guess so," He said with a shrug.

"Great! You're invited again!"

"Was I ever not?" Naruto frowned.

"Only when he said it," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Really though?" Naruto said pinning Kiba with a stare.

"I gotta get to class," Kiba said with a huff and he stood grabbing his bags. "Later losers," He said as he disappeared.

"See ya," Naruto said and there was a chorus of farewells before Naruto looked down at his soup. "I can't believe I paid four dollars for this piece of shit," He muttered.

Sasuke sucked in a deep breath, "Whose fault is it for letting it sit there?"

Naruto frowned and rested his cheek on the table, "How am I supposed to know the answer to that?"

"Moron," Sasuke muttered.

"Jerk," Naruto poked his tongue out before Sasuke shook his head.

"Come on, I'll take you to lunch," He said.

"Really?" Naruto sat up straight with a grin on his face, ignoring the quiet laughs from the girls.

"Come on, before I change my mind," He said.

"You're the best," Naruto said, his arm hooking around Sasuke's shoulder and he pressed his knuckle into Sasuke's cheek.

"You only want me because I feed you," Sasuke said.

"Not true, you drive me home sometimes too," Naruto grinned and he waved at the girls.

"Just go," Sakura said waving her hand. "Before you make me sick with all this cute," She said.

"NOT cute," Naruto frowned.

"Hey Sakura, wanna go get some coffee, then maybe take a look at that paper we have due?" Ino asked.

"Yeah, sure, I could use some caffeine before we get into things," She said with a stretch.

"Bye guys," Ino said with a smile, and Sakura just gave them a small wave.

"Where do you wanna go?" Sasuke said as they headed for the door.

Naruto shrugged, "Dunno, wherever. You can pick this time," He said.

"Finally," Sasuke said with a smirk.

Naruto looked at Sasuke quietly as they walked toward his car. They'd gotten through it and Sasuke didn't seem like he hated the experience. Naruto loved his friends, but he knew they could be a lot to handle. Making sure that Sasuke was comfortable was the most important thing to him. "You look exhausted," Naruto observed.

Sasuke slid his hands into his pockets and tipped his head. "You're friends…are really loud," Sasuke said.

"See, that's why I didn't introduce you to them," Naruto shrugged. It was a little more than that in all reality.

"But, whatever, I'm fine with them," Sasuke said.

"You don't have to go to Kiba's thing this weekend, I know you're probably really busy anyway," Naruto offered.

"What is it anyway?"

"Just a get together really, kick back a couple beer and just hang out. It's not really a party, well, they aren't usually. He's trying to hook up with this girl I know, so he's been creating every opportunity possible to get her over to his place," he shrugged.

"Sounds classy," Sasuke said.

Naruto's lip twisted and he huffed as they reached the car. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean, he's a dumbass, but I think he really likes her," he shrugged. "Plus, the guy has no game, he's the kind of guy to use that running through your dreams shit," Naruto laughed.

Sasuke got in the car and just hummed, "Why does Sakura think you're sleeping with this Sai person?" Sasuke asked once they were inside and Naruto froze in his seat for a moment.

"I dunno," Naruto said quietly, his hand gripping the handle of the door tightly, trying to decide whether he should leave it open in case this turned into a fight and he could leave all that much easier.

"There has to be a reason," he said.

"She hasn't even met him. He doesn't like going around crowded areas, and whenever I invite him to hang out, he always says no. He's just a friend from my art classes," Naruto said with a huff as he closed the door. "I'm not sleeping with anyone." He hadn't ever slept with anyone, not really.

"Hn…" Sasuke muttered as he backed out of the parking spot and headed off to wherever they were going.

Naruto was quiet as he looked out the window and he sucked in a deep breath. "You don't have to be worried about anything y'know?"

"Who says I'm worried about anything?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto swore he could see the grip on the steering wheel tighten.

He leaned his head on the headrest and rubbed at his eyes. "I'll introduce you sometime," Naruto offered.

"Sure," Sasuke shrugged.

Their meal went much of the same way. They sat in the booth and when Naruto decided to strike a conversation up with the waiter, Sasuke seemed to become even more closed off. They had awkward conversations about what they were doing in school, it became increasingly frustrating.

"Sasuke," Naruto said.

"What?" Sasuke didn't look at him.

"Sasuke," Naruto frowned.

"What?" He sounded more annoyed when he looked up at Naruto finally.

"Smile," He said, eyes not leaving Sasuke's face.

"Hn," Sasuke turned back to his food, not paying Naruto any attention.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and he sunk down in his seat. "I've got this opportunity to show in an actual gallery at the end of the semester. I mean, it's not that far away, but by next week I'll have enough pieces in my portfolio to show them. It's a group thing, so I need to show with someone else, but it's still a good opportunity," he said.

"Who you pair up with, Sai?"

Naruto's teeth pinched at the inside of his cheek and he dug into his back pocket for his wallet. "Bite me Sasuke," He said, tired of feeling like shit, so instead he got angry. He fished out a couple of bills and slapped them down on the table and stood up.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

"If you can't even pretend to enjoy my company, I'm gonna walk home," Naruto said. "Don't forget to tip the waiter," He said as he headed for the door.

"You live a clean one hour walk from this place," Sasuke said and he heard him shifting at the table.

"Don't care," Naruto called over his shoulder, waving at the waiter before he pushed the door open. He instantly regretted his choice when he felt the chill in the air. It was probably going to snow sometime later that night. He needed to find a bus stop, hell if he was freezing his ass off, so he occupied himself with trying to find where he was with his phone.

"Naruto!" Sasuke's hastened footsteps sounded behind him, but Naruto didn't turn around.

"Go away Sasuke," Naruto muttered.

"Don't be like that. At least let me take you home," He said, hand resting on his shoulder.

"I can catch a bus," Naruto said as he found the bus route he needed to take home, and the direction of the street he needed to be on to catch the bus.

"Naruto, just come with me," Sasuke said, his hand slipping down his shoulder to his wrist, firmly stopping him.

Naruto stopped but didn't say anything right away. He looked over his shoulder at Sasuke before he ducked his head. "I don't want to, Sasuke. You're being a jerk," he said. He rarely actually meant those words, but really…he felt like shit, and feeling like he had to keep quiet around Sasuke just made his innate sense of being inadequate even worse.

Sasuke was quiet too before he tugged on Naruto's wrist. It would take a far stronger person than Naruto not to turn into the embrace Sasuke pulled him into. They were quiet for a moment. Sasuke's chin rested on his shoulder and Naruto let his eyes closed as Sasuke's warmth spread through him. It was solid, like he wasn't going anywhere, he'd have to try to remember that. "I'm sorry," He said quietly.

"Sure…" Naruto said, resting his cheek on Sasuke's shoulder, his eyes watching as a few flakes of snow began to float by.

"It's been a long day," he said quietly. "I shouldn't take it out on you," his voice was level. Maybe it had been a long day, Naruto was still pretty sure he was annoyed about Sai though. He hated that people didn't want to take his word for it, he figured maybe he should invite Sasuke to the art room soon.

"It's fine," Naruto decided to give in. Sasuke's warmth was too much to fight anyhow. "It's snowing," he murmured.

"It is…" Sasuke said as leaned back and looked up at the sky. "I should get you home before we have a blizzard on our hands," He said.

Naruto sighed when Sasuke pulled away and he tipped his head. "Think Neji would care if we went back to your room instead? I don't want to go home," He said with a shrug.

"Would it matter if he did?" He asked.

Naruto thought about it, "Nah, let's ruin his studying," he grinned as they headed back to the car.

"Shouldn't you be studying?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shook his head, "I've got projects to do, but I already have a good start on them so I can finish them any time. I have that paper to do, but I'm doing that one with Kiba," he shrugged. "I'm not going to be messing with your project time am I?" I can just head home if I am," he said.

"It's fine," Sasuke said. Naruto liked how they could just go back to being comfortable. "Hey, can I get Sakura's info when you've got a chance? We should probably meet to get our presentation done for next week," Sasuke said.

Naruto sighed, "You know, if you start hanging around with us, she's never going to leave your inbox empty," he said.

"You sound like you don't even like her, why are you friends?" Sasuke asked.

"It's not like that!" Naruto raised his voice as they drove along. "I don't care if she blows up my phone all the time, I just want you to be comfortable with her. She's like my best friend, we've been friends since we were kids…well except when I moved away, but when I came back it was like I never left," he said.

"If you say so," Sasuke said.

"I do say so," he pouted, and for a moment he swore he saw a smirk on Sasuke's face.

"Just a heads up, if you ever get the flu or anything..." He looked around as they parked the car like Sakura was going to be around or something before he leaned across the console and whispered in Sasuke's ear. "Don't eat the soup."

"Why are you whispering?" Sasuke asked after turning his head just the slightest until their faces were only an inch apart. They might have been talking about soup, but Naruto felt a little turned on at the deep husk of Sasuke's voice.

"Because I kind of like you, and I'd like for you to survive through the flu. Death by soup isn't something anyone should aspire to have on their tomb stone," Naruto said.

"Consider me well warned," He said before catching Naruto's lips.

Naruto sighed when he pulled back, wondering if the warmth from the brief lip lock would keep him warm long enough to reach Sasuke's room in all that snow. "Think Neji's around?" he asked.

"He's probably out, he's always out studying," Sasuke shrugged.

"Good," Naruto said with a shrug and reached to take Sasuke's hand. "Show me the way dear sir," he said with what he assumed was a terrible accent.

"Sir? It's about time that I got some recognition," Sasuke said with a chuckle as he headed toward the dorm.

"I was throwing you a bone," Naruto said.

"All of a sudden I'm a dog?" Sasuke snorted.

"Yes."

"Moron," Sasuke laughed again and Naruto smiled before leaning into Sasuke's arm. It was awfully cold out now that the snow had gathered up to about a half a cm.

"I got markers," He said, feeling lighthearted at the sound of Sasuke's laugh. He rarely ever laughed while they were growing up, he never knew how calming it could have been.

"Congratulations?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and nudged Sasuke with his shoulder, "For your window! I'm going to draw a fan on that stupid thing, and maybe I'll be able to find you," he said.

"Find me hm?" Sasuke said.

"Yeah, I always sit there and I tell myself, 'oh my god Naruto, it's either this building or that one that attaches to the library' and then I always end up at the painting…" Naruto muttered wondering if he heard thoughtfulness in the comment Sasuke made.

"I still hate that thing," Sasuke said.

"It must be from a first year who doesn't know what they're doing. They're probably better now, I mean it wasn't that bad, just a few changes would have made it more harmonious," he shrugged.

"What's harmonious about a naked woman broken into pieces?"

"They aren't really…ugh," Naruto shook his head before he sucked in a deep breath, "Cubism is about creating the same thing from different angles, she isn't broken," He said.

"Looks broke down to me," Sasuke said and Naruto reached up and pushed at his face with his hand with a laugh.

"You're hopeless," he said before Sasuke grasped his wrist and he found himself pressed against a wall or something…was that a knob? Okay so maybe he was against a door.

"I might be enlightened one day," Sasuke muttered against his mouth before the door opened behind Naruto and they took a few steps in.

"Fuck no," Neji said in a monotone voice. "I don't give a shit if you two want to be in here, but if you're going to do that I'm sure there's a seedy hotel you can find," he muttered not even looking up from one of his texts.

"Calm yourself, mate, we weren't going to do anything," Naruto said before throwing Sasuke an amused look before rolling his eyes.

"I'm going to pretend I believe you," he said.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Naruto said as he walked over to Sasuke's bed and kneeled down on it. He dropped the bag before opening it up and he pulled out the glass markers he had bought. He leaned against the windowsill before he pulled the blinds up and looked at it really closely trying to find the best place to put it.

"What is your boyfriend doing?" Neji asked, still not looking up.

"Drawing on the window," Sasuke said behind Naruto before he walked in and dropped his bag by the desk. Naruto felt Sasuke's hand run up his back and onto his shoulder and he felt a shiver run through him. Maybe they would have done something if Neji wasn't here.

"Why?"

"Because he has no sense of direction and needs some help, and he can also hear you talking so you can just talk to Sasuke's boyfriend, Neji," Naruto muttered as he took out a white pen and almost started drawing.

"Figures a loser like you wouldn't be able to follow directions," Neji said and Naruto sighed.

"I'm not a loser," He said, almost willing to bear the insults he knew were coming.

"Only someone in your field would think that," he muttered.

"Yeah, well without people like me you wouldn't have your precious clothes, or am I to believe they aren't designer?" Naruto muttered. He could smell Neji's attraction to men a mile away.

"Shut up Neji," Sasuke said with a growl to his voice.

"It's fine Sasuke," Naruto shrugged. "Of course he'd think I'm a loser, he's stupid smart like you, and could probably do everything I do better and more," Naruto said before he frowned. "Hey, can I see that family picture again?"

"It's not fine," Sasuke muttered but the photo was placed on the sill a moment later, "And I couldn't do half the shit you do," he said.

"Thanks babe," Naruto said.

"Don't call me that," he griped.

"Alright, babe," Naruto grinned hoping to change the subject as he looked at the photo where the family emblem was on the sleeve of Sasuke's dad's shirt.

"I only think he's a loser because he is," Neji said.

"I'm not after your cousin, so why the fuck are you still picking on me?" Naruto frowned as he worked on finishing the outline perfectly before he began to fill in the white.

"Just letting you know your destined place," Neji said. "Serving the people smart enough to take real Majors their coffee."

"I told you to back the fuck off Neji," Sasuke growled.

"Or what? I could easily file a complaint about him being in here, and staying over without my written permission. You'd get kicked out and then where would you be?"

"I'd figure it out, and if I got to knock you out it would probably be worth the eviction. You don't have to be such a dick, but I can understand why it would be difficult for someone as simple as you to discard social decorum and keep pressing the matter," Sasuke said.

"Oh my god, shut up the pair of you," Naruto said. "I don't give a shit what Neji thinks about me."

"Even his own self-worth informs him of the pecking order, Uchiha, so can we drop this now and let me study?"

"He's wrong," Sasuke said to Naruto. The blonde could practically hear Sasuke's desire to punch Neji out.

"I know," Naruto shrugged. He might have agreed with Neji a few years ago. It was hard not to think like that, but Sasuke showed him the truth when he started tutoring him. It was really a big part of who he had ended up, so he fought to hold onto the belief that he might actually be worth something. Normally he would just get pissed with someone like Neji…and really, he had in the past, but keeping a roof over Sasuke's head was keeping him in check. Well, that and he couldn't get it out of his head that there was something up with Neji.

"Good," Sasuke said quietly as he sat on the bed. Naruto imagined he was probably glaring at Neji anyway.

"How's it looking?" Naruto asked as he leaned back and looked at Sasuke.

The raven looked up from his text before he leaned a little closer until his upper body was basically laying on the bed. "Looks just like it," Sasuke hummed.

"Good," He smiled so all his teeth showed before he moved to finish up the red. When he finished he sat back, and looked behind him where Sasuke was sitting sideways on the bed so his feet were on the ground. He hummed and he shifted his weight until he was laid back, his now socked feet on the wall and his head in Sasuke's lap. "Hi…" he said.

"Hey," Sasuke's brow lifted before he shifted his text until the hard cover of one side was resting on Naruto's face.

"You're a jerk," Naruto muttered with a laugh and he pushed at the cover. "I'm done!" He said.

Sasuke turned his head to look at the fan he had drawn and he hummed. "Well, it would seem that you are, in fact, an artist," Sasuke said.

"Oh, that's right, you haven't seen anything I've done yet…" Naruto trailed off.

"No," Sasuke agreed.

"Want to? I mean next week, no sense going there now and I'll be busy Tomorrow, then I have that thing with Kiba…then the thing at Kiba's…what do you think?" He was talking low so he didn't disturb Neji too much.

"Love to," Sasuke said his fingers moving through Naruto's hair and Naruto just breathed in quietly, briefly taken back to their dreams. He could smell the charcoal in the air before he could smell the bank of the river as Sasuke tried to comfort him. He had been low in those days, but seeing Sasuke there even for a moment, feeling the residual warmth of Sasuke's hand hovering just above him was enough to give him strength. It felt nice to feel the real thing, the hands carding through his hair in such an intimate fashion.

"'kay…" he said quietly before he reached into his bag and pulled out a book.

"You're going to read?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Yeah, I know you've got things to work on, I've got things to work on, jerk face over there has things to work on…why not?" Naruto said as he opened to the page he was last on before looking up at Sasuke. "'sides…I like just being around you, so I'll have a good time anyway," He smiled.

Sasuke was quiet a moment and Naruto wasn't sure what to make of the thoughtful expression on his face. "Nar…"

"Please stop," Neji said and Sasuke's teeth clicked when he shut his mouth.

Naruto smiled and he reached up to poke at Sasuke's cheek, drawing his mouth into a faux smile.

"Moron…" Naruto said, but even when he went back to reading, Naruto could see a bit of a smile there. He liked making people happy, he was usually good at knowing what to say to make people smile. It had been difficult cracking Sasuke, but maybe him just being dumb was enough to do something.

-::0::-

A couple of hours passed before Naruto's phone rang. It had been vibrating on and off all night and Naruto hadn't really bothered to check it, because it was probably just nonsense. "Oh, hey Iruka," Naruto said when he answered the phone, seeing home on the display. "Hmmm? Oh, I dunno…" He pulled away from the phone to look up at Sasuke. "Am I eating here?" Naruto asked quietly.

"I could cook," Sasuke shrugged. They had a very small kitchenette in the corner.

"Uh, yeah, don't worry about me," Naruto said with a smile. "I do too eat at home, I'm eating just fin—" Naruto breathed a moment and shook his head when Sasuke gave him an odd look. "—Trust me, Sasuke's all fussy about what he eats, I'm eating just fine…mhmm, mhmm…just tell him to do it then! Yeah, I'll see you later," he said before hanging up with a breath.

"You guys are too loud," Neji said as he stood, closing his book with a loud clap for emphasis that wasn't lost on anyone.

"Sorry…" Naruto murmured quietly.

"Whatever, I'm going the library, at least they have a quiet area," He said gathering his things.

Naruto let him move around for a moment, watching him and the odd expression on his face and recognized something in him he couldn't quite identify yet…but maybe he identified with. He bit his lip and almost didn't say anything, but Sasuke cleared his throat and startled him. "Hey Neji?"

"What?" the man sighed, stopping.

"My friend has this thing on Friday night…I was wondering if you want to come hang out?" he said.

"Why on earth would I want to hang out with other idiots like you?" He asked.

Naruto shrugged and looked up at Sasuke who was giving him an odd look. "I dunno…it's something to do rather than study," Naruto said.

"I'll have you know that studying is what intelligent people do when attempting to be successful," Neji said.

"I'll have you know that thus far I haven't gotten a single grade under an A yet," Naruto said.

"In the arts," Neji said, not impressed.

"Whatever, I just thought that maybe you'd enjoy a break. Hinata's going to be there," he said.

"I weep for her soul," he said.

"Yeah…My friend really likes her, he's hoping to land a date with her so I can totally see where you're coming from on that one," Naruto said, his brow arching, wondering if Neji would take the bait.

"A friend…of yours?" So far so good.

"Y'hmm, met him in one of my English classes," Naruto said, not specifying that it was the one English class every student was required to take, hoping that he might just think Kiba was Majoring in English too.

"What time does it start, and where is it?" Neji asked.

Naruto tried not to smirk when he picked up his phone again. "What's your number, I'll text it to you," He said.

"Why would I give you my number?"

"I hardly ever use this thing, why would it matter?" he frowned. After so many years not allowed any real social interaction, especially none a phone, he usually forgot he owned a phone.

"Fine," Neji said before listing off the digits.

"Cool…and…sent," Naruto said hitting the screen to send the message and a chime sounded from Neji's bag. Naruto knew that the man wasn't getting any messages the whole time they were there. Even Sasuke's phone was sounding in the background.

"Sure," Neji said before leaving without so much as a goodbye.

"What the hell was that? You sit there and let him insult you all night, then you invite him to a party? This sounds like the beginning of a really unhealthy relationship," Sasuke grumped at him.

"Oh, don't worry your pretty head about it," Naruto reached up and pushed at Sasuke's forehead only to have his hand swatted away. "I dunno…he's a jerk, but I feel like maybe he just needs a friend or something. He doesn't want it to be me, but maybe one of my friends can help him out…" Naruto shrugged.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno…I just feel like we're the same somehow, call it intuition," Naruto said quietly.

"How do you even know him?"

"Uh…he thought I was trying to pick up his cousin. He saw us eating together and rudely interrupted our lunch just to sit there and be all nasty. He doesn't think I'm good enough for her, it took me a while to figure out why he was so pissed at me. Well…he kind of took me aside and yelled at me, well, actually, he doesn't yell. He's scary enough though that when he's pissed, it feels like he's screaming at you. Didn't take much more than a few words to tell him why I'd never date Hinata," He laughed.

"Everything he's saying about you is bullshit," Sasuke said and Naruto moved to sit up. Sasuke took advantage of the shorter distance to catch his lips and Naruto fell into the warmth easily enough.

"Yeah…I know," Naruto said looking at the door and he tipped his head. It must be difficult for Neji still being in the closet, at least, Naruto was getting a strong sense that he was. He'd have to ask. His friends didn't care about that sort of shit. Maybe they could give him a comfortable space away from whoever he was hanging around now.

"Good," Sasuke said, his hand rested on Naruto's shoulder and his thumb rubbed at the nape of his neck gently.

"So…you said something about food?" Naruto said with a grin.

Sasuke blinked and he looked toward the fridge off to the side. "Right, how does curry sound?" he asked.

"Yes please," Naruto said as he stretched out on his stomach on the bed as Sasuke stood.

"No, please, just lay there while I slave over dinner," Sasuke muttered.

"Well…if you really wanted me to burn the dorm down…"

"Just…stay there," He sounded almost exasperated, but Naruto knew the tone was kidding.

"You're the best Sasuke!" Naruto said as he watched Sasuke move around the kitchen. Sasuke made him really happy, he hoped the raven wouldn't get tired of him.

TBC...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I always underestimate how much time school takes up. I just handed in my final essay, so as long as I can keep a good momentum up when I write the next chapter, hopefully I can keep my updates on time!


	4. Chapter 3

Sasuke was walking back to his room from the library where he had just finished doing a decent amount of groundwork for his paper due the following Monday. Naruto walked beside him, scuffing his feet against the linoleum floor. "Cut it out," Sasuke huffed.

"Gotta be more specific than that, Sasuke," Naruto said and nudged him with his shoulder while scuffing his feet again.

"Can't you pick your feet up when you walk?" He muttered.

"Hmm, no, too lazy," He said with a grin before shoving his hands in his pocket.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted but he felt a slight smile tug at his lips, it grew wider when he noticed Naruto stealing small glances at him as they walked across the walkway that joined the library to his dorm building.

"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Hm?" Sasuke acknowledged him.

"Uh, you're probably busy this weekend, but I was wondering…" Naruto's head tipped to the side as he walked and he sucked in a deep breath. "Iruka and Kakashi are going away this weekend and I know how small and cramped your dorm is. I was wondering if you want to crash at my place while they're away?" He asked.

Sasuke paused and looked at Naruto with a frown on his face. "Going away…" He said before he resumed walking. He was having a hard time understanding why Naruto was so hesitant to let him into his life. Maybe meeting family members was a big deal, and Sasuke got why Naruto might not trust him…he really just wished that he knew a way to speed the process along. He knew he'd never do anything to hurt the blonde, not intentionally.

"Yeah, Kakashi has this thing for work, and Iruka's going for part of it…only a part of it though since he's got work on Monday," Naruto shrugged. The blonde was still sneaking glances at him.

"You sure they won't mind?" Sasuke asked, his brow lifted. He wondered what the implications were in the invitation, the good and the bad.

"Nah, they'll be fine," Naruto said. "I mean, I won't bug you or anything, I have some stuff to keep me occupied, promise," He said. Naruto seemed to know when Sasuke needed some breathing room, that's how it had always been. It was honestly part of the reason he enjoyed Naruto's company all through growing up, because he was the only one who seemed to get that he wanted attention, but usually only on a touch and go basis.

"Yeah, I mean, if you're sure about it. When should I swing by?" he asked.

"Whenever," Naruto shrugged. "I mean, we can go now if you want, spend some time together before heading over to Kiba's…y'know, if you're even interested in going to that still. I get it if you're not," he said. Sasuke wondered if he sounded hopeful, or if it was just his own brain projecting expectations on the blonde.

"I'm fine, it might be nice to relax tonight," Sasuke said.

"I don't think relax is the right word," Naruto snickered to himself.

Sasuke looked at him and his brow lifted before he rolled his eyes. "Fine, let my brain take a vacation,"

"Much better," Naruto's voice still had a hint of that laugh and Sasuke sucked in a heavy breath weighted down with the sound. He leaned forward and caught Naruto's lips briefly.

"Just don't lose too much of your brain, moron, you need every bit you can get," He said.

"Oh shut up," Naruto said his smile not wavering before the blonde pushed at Sasuke's face before they reached the room.

"Cut that out," Sasuke growled, but there was no real feeling to it as the door swung open.

"Are you ever not here?" Neji's voice sounded with a melodramatic sigh. Sasuke was counting down the days before he never had to see the prick ever again.

Naruto shrugged as he sat on the bed. "Shut it, we're not here for long," Naruto said with a snort.

"I'm sure you'll be back," Neji muttered into one of his business texts.

"Nah, but I'm sure I'll see you at the party. Hinata agreed to show up, it's going to be great," Naruto said.

Sasuke rummaged around for his things before taking a sneak glance at Naruto. He knew that the blonde knew exactly what he was doing, baiting Neji into going. He still didn't get why, but he didn't interfere. "Pass me that book," Sasuke pointed and Naruto handed it over with a brief wink that probably stopped Sasuke in his tracks seconds longer than it should have.

"No, you probably won't," Neji said with a hum.

"Oh, well that's too bad. I'll say hi to Hina for you," He said and Sasuke could hear Neji's grip on his text tightening.

"Do what you want," Neji said.

"No dummy," Naruto said with a huff as he stretched across the bed so he was within arms-reach of the dresser Sasuke was currently pulling out a change of clothes.

"What? I like that shirt," Sasuke said.

"You're going to need more than that," Naruto huffed and he tucked his legs underneath him before leaning over on his hands and knees. "Take that one, and those pants, they look good on you," He said.

"So I'm there all weekend then?"

"Well, unless you don't want to," Naruto said, playing it off like he didn't care.

"Sure," Sasuke hadn't wanted to presume anything.

"What did I do to deserve such luck?" Neji asked to the room.

"Certainly isn't because you're a decent human being," Sasuke said.

"You two bicker more than a couple that's been married for thirty years and is a dirty sink full of dishes away from a divorce," Naruto muttered, sounding annoyed.

"That's not funny," Sasuke said. "I don't want that shirt…"

"Fiiine, pick what you want," Naruto said as he sat back on the bed, his legs folded underneath him again.

"Like I wasn't going to in the first place," Sasuke said as he grabbed a few things and shoved them in his bag. It wasn't too hard to just come back to the dorm if he forgot anything.

When they had finished up, they opted to go straight to Naruto's place. They pulled up to the two story house and Naruto led him to the door. He unlocked it and pushed it open before stepping inside. "Home sweet home," Naruto said with a hum as he tossed his keys up onto a hook and proceeded to toss his coat on the floor. The blonde stood and stared at it for a bit. It was an odd moment watching him, illuminated by the light of the adjacent living room as he contemplated the lump of sweater on the floor like it was fascinating before he slowly picked it back up and hung it on a hook. It was odd to see Naruto being so neat.

"I think this is the first time I've been here," Sasuke said, like it wasn't obvious that he hadn't, he just wanted to get away from that faraway look on Naruto's face that seemed to scream discomfort.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. It's not much," Naruto said with a shrug. "Iruka thinks he can decorate. I don't really have a knack for interior design so I really have no idea."

"Hm…" Sasuke looked around, the first thing that he had noted was a sweet scent. It was a little citrusy and entirely unlike the scent of licorice that he had come to dread. The styling of the house was fairly modern in comparison to the dated exterior, it reeked of fixer-upper, he wondered how long the couple had been living here.

"Come on, we can put shit away and then make something to eat!" Naruto said as he dashed up the stairs.

"Oh, I get it now," Sasuke huffed after taking his shoes off and following Naruto upstairs.

Naruto stopped where he was at a door and just stared at him with a frown. "I don't get it…"

"You asked me here to keep you fed," Sasuke said, he was really more amused than anything.

Naruto almost squawked as he pushed his door open. "I would do no such thing! The fact that I can't cook without almost burning the house down has nothing to do with this!" He said, feigning offense.

Sasuke let out a laugh and followed Naruto inside when the blonde waved him in. "It's not too big or anything, but I don't think we'll be too cramped in here…I mean unless, we have a guest room if you want," Naruto said with a nearly timid frown.

"We've slept in the same bed, at least a half a dozen times, why would it bother me?" Sasuke said as he laid his bag gently down on one of the shelves and looked around.

"I dunno, it's not like we have the option in your room," Naruto said as he yanked the hoodie he was wearing under his coat off. His shirt got caught up in the hoodie and lifted up all the way around his chest revealing a gently toned torso. Sasuke had to actively keep himself from staring.

"Muuuch better, they left the heat on for me," Naruto said with a smile.

"Those your parents?" Sasuke asked after a moment, his eyes falling on a photo by the bed. He had almost been too hesitant to ask even though he already knew. Images of Naruto as a child walking hand in hand with both his parents flooded through his memory.

Naruto looked up and a large smile spread across his face. It was very genuine, even though Naruto smiled and laughed around him, there were only a few times when it was as honest as this one. This was the expression he enjoyed most. "Yeah, that's them," He said as he crawled over the bed to look at the photo too. "My dad's name was Minato Namikaze, he was a big time politician," Naruto hummed as he tipped his head to the side. Sasuke didn't recognize the name, but his father might. Naruto moved to trace his fingers over his mother's face. The blonde's resemblance to his father was insane, but upon closer inspection, Sasuke could see more of her features in Naruto. "My mom's name was Kushina, she stayed at home with me. Booooy she could yell," Naruto said with a chuckle.

"I've always wondered what they looked like," Sasuke said quietly. Naruto just grinned before he flopped back on the bed. "Wait…you said Namikaze, but you go by Uzumaki…" Sasuke said.

"Oh, that? Uh, Kakashi told me that was because my dad didn't want me to be treated any differently when I enrolled in school. I was supposed to go to some big fancy private school or something," He said with a shrug, like he didn't think too much of it.

"I see…" Sasuke said and he pulled himself away from the photo to look around. It was pretty bare. Naruto's clothes were tucked away with the occasional shirt draped over a seat or the bed. The walls had one single ramen poster on it and Sasuke found himself amused at that. There was also a stereo in the corner as well as a laptop sitting on a desk. It wasn't really anything he had expected.

"We should eat!" Naruto said as he sat up and tugged at Sasuke's hand before heading out the door.

"By which you mean, I should cook," Sasuke said following the blonde, taking a quick look at the room over his shoulder on the way out.

"Yes!" Naruto said as he turned left at the bottom of the stairs into the kitchen.

"What do we have to work with?" Sasuke asked.

"Dunno. I've got some grocery money if there's nothing," Naruto said with a hum.

Sasuke looked at Naruto and nodded. He knew Naruto didn't have a job at the moment, but was gearing up to start looking. He wasn't sure why he didn't have one yet. Sasuke was on scholarship, as far as he knew Naruto didn't apply to anything, and he wasn't attending on loans. "Let's see then," he said.

Naruto started looking around cupboards and Sasuke took the fridge. It was incredibly bare, unless they wanted a mustard and pickle salad, the fridge was useless. "Oh sweet beautiful thing you," he heard Naruto say. Sasuke turned and saw Naruto holding a cup of ramen and he sighed.

"No, not happening. Not today, I can handle to the restaurant stuff, but not that," Sasuke said.

"But it's miso, Sasuke!" Naruto said holding it in front of his face.

"No, let's go shopping," he said.

Naruto slumped and he put the cup down, "Fine," He muttered. "You owe me, I just took all my clothes off."

"I don't think 'all' means what you think it does, moron," Sasuke said as he headed to grab his things even though, yes, they had just gotten in.

"There's a store just up on the corner here," Naruto said.

"Let's walk then," Sasuke suggested.

"Oh, right you brought your car," Naruto said with a sheepish grin. "Let's go!"

-::0::-

"Put it back," Sasuke muttered as they made their way through the market.

"But I need it," Naruto said staring down at the box of cake mix.

"What could you possibly be thinking of doi—" Sasuke sighed heavily as he walked swiftly after Naruto when the blonde decided to dash down the aisle, "—No, definitely not."

"What could I possibly be thinking? Baking, duh," Naruto said as he looked at the can of icing.

"Like I'm going to give you sugar. I'm sure as hell not baking from a box," he said as he put the things back.

"Uuuugh," Naruto said putting the icing down with a frown. "Well then can we bake it from scratch?"

"We?" Sasuke raised a brow and stared Naruto down for a moment.

"What, is licking the mixing spoon not helping?" Naruto frowned.

"What makes you think I know what we need to bake anyway?" Sasuke said.

"I dunno, you're so good at everything. Can't we just?" Naruto said looking up at him, his brow furrowed.

"Go get the eggs…for breakfast," Sasuke made sure to clarify.

"Fiiiine," Naruto said as he turned on his heel and disappeared around the corner.

Sasuke's eyes lingered on Naruto's back until he was out of sight and he let out a soft sigh before looking down at what they had in the basket. He had to talk Naruto out of six different kinds of microwavable foods and dinners so far and he didn't expect it to be the last. He had managed to convince the blonde of some healthy food. Sasuke smiled quietly as he made his way into the produce section.

"Sasuke!"

"No," Sasuke didn't look up from where he was sifting through the tomatoes.

"But you don't even know what I have," Naruto said, Sasuke could hear the frown on his face.

"The answer's still no," Sasuke said.

"Fine, I'll just use my own money for it then, jerk," Naruto huffed as he reached for the basket. The carton of eggs was placed carefully before Sasuke pulled away.

"Carry it yourself, moron," He hummed.

"Fine, don't be jealous when I don't share," He said as he looked down at the small coconut jelly cups happily.

"I'll sit in the shower and cry," Sasuke hummed as he settled on a few and looked back at Naruto who was grabbing some fruit.

"Long as you're not crying to me, we'll be fine," Naruto said with a snort before looking up at Sasuke with a grin.

Sasuke hummed, "I think we're about done," He said, briefly wondering if this was what shopping might be like all the time if they lived together…maybe it was way too early to be thinking things like that.

"Yes, let's go eat all the food, then hit up Kiba's place," Naruto said.

"Fine, fine," Sasuke said as they reached the registers and was pleasantly surprised when there was no one in line.

The girl at the till smiled at them as she rang everything through and while they were waiting for the debit to be accepted she had her eyes on Naruto. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want, but how did you get the marks on your cheeks?" She asked. She seemed pleasant, but as of this point seeing Naruto tense and the boldness of her question seriously changed Sasuke's view on her previously pleasant attitude.

"Oh, these?" Naruto said with a nervous laugh and he reached up to touch his face.

"You don't have to, I'm sorry, that was rude," she said. Sasuke agreed that it was.

"Nah, I made a bad judgement call once," he shrugged with a false grin on his face. "I was a dumb kid," he said.

"Oh," She said with a nod at the vague answer but she smiled and handed them the receipt before wishing them a good day.

Sasuke watched Naruto quietly as they headed back toward his house and Naruto dug into the bag for the small cups of coconut jelly he had found and opened one. "Want one?" He said, seemingly fine.

"Uh, no," He said.

"Your loss," Naruto chuckled before he tipped his head back eating a pink one.

"You okay?" Sasuke asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Naruto frowned and Sasuke decided to drop it.

* * *

They arrived at Kiba's place probably about an hour into the entire thing, but really, as far as Sasuke knew nobody had specified a time anyway. Naruto kept calling him a nerd and told him to stop worrying about getting there. He supposed the blonde was right.

"Jesus, took you long enough!" Kiba said over top of the music thumping through the house, it was a bit more of a party than the get together Naruto described.

"Are you that desperate for my help?" Naruto frowned as he tossed his coat.

"Yes, shut up now. We've got tr…" Kiba paused as he looked over toward a dark haired girl that looked remarkably similar to his roommate talking quietly to someone else in the corner. "Trouble?"

"How much have you had to drink?" Naruto asked, "And where are you keeping it?" Sasuke watched as Kiba pointed.

"Dude, no…I'm fine," He said with a frown his eyes wandering back to the girl and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I'll grab it, you talk to him," Sasuke said and Naruto grinned sheepishly as he headed toward a few open cases of beer. There wasn't really any large selection of anything, he imagined that Kiba just had whatever he could get his hands on most likely being underage. He looped his fingers around two bottles and was about to head back when he heard a voice.

"I'd drink lightly if I were you," the voice said.

Sasuke turned to see another man with his hair pulled into a hair-tie. "Why's that?" Sasuke frowned.

"You're Naruto's boyfriend, yeah?" he said.

"And you are?" Sasuke said, getting annoyed.

"Shikamaru, I'm not creeping, Sakura pointed you out when you stepped in the door," He mused with a shrug.

"You going to tell me why?" Sasuke frowned.

"I guess," He said taking a swig from his own bottle from where he was leaning against the table. "You're going to have to wrap all that…" He made a circular motion around Naruto from across the room, "up when he's done…I imagine that's your responsibility now," He hummed.

"Shika!" Sasuke looked up and saw the blonde woman from the other day. He couldn't quite make out her name in his head. "Oh, I see you found Naruto's man," She said a grin pulling at her now plum coloured lips that matched her too short dress.

"The word 'Find' infers that I would have been looking for him. Really, he just invaded my space," Shikamaru said.

"Don't mind him, he's a buzz kill…how many have you even had?" Ino asked, leaning on his shoulder.

Sasuke frowned and looked toward Naruto, only managing to see the man holding up three fingers. Everyone kept talking about Naruto like something was going to go wrong. "You two together or something?" Sasuke asked absentmindedly, not really caring in the least.

The blonde laughed, "Oh, you're funny," She said her hand resting on his elbow a moment before she stumbled in her heels just a little bit. "No way, Shika's hung up on one of his…what is it? His…"

"I'm not hung up on anything or anyone," He said with a bored expression.

"Internet girlfriend," She said finally figuring out what she was trying to say.

"I don't have one," Shikamaru said with a shrug.

"Suuuure, she's older than him too" She grinned.

"Ino, I'm going to find Chouji," He said. Sasuke looked at him a moment, the man was strangely aware for someone that was in three deep already.

"He's so boring sometimes, I don't know why we're even frien…friends, probably because he's nice even if he's lazy and we've known each other forever an—"

"—Ino, right?" the name finally coming back to him. Besides, interrupting her was the only way to escape the babbling rant he sensed was coming.

"Y'hmm," She said. "Forehead! Over here!" She yelled suddenly.

"I gotta get back to Naruto," He said.

"Yeah you do," She grinned as Sakura walked passed him with a timid wave. He just nodded as he made his way back to Naruto.

"Nononono, y'see this is the problem though man, he's always around! You JUST go talk to her," Kiba said, his elbow was firmly on Naruto's shoulder.

"Here," Sasuke said holding his hand up and Naruto grabbed it.

"Thanks," He hummed as he looked toward the girl that Sasuke supposed was Hinata. "I could just go talk to her, it's not that big a deal. Why does it matter if Shino's talking to her or not?"

"Have you seen him?" Kiba asked.

"Uh, no…actually," Naruto said with a frown.

"Shino?" Sasuke asked.

"Uh…he's that guy…y'know not showing any skin. I don't think I've actually seen his face ever," Naruto looked perplexed and decided to drink instead of ponder that any more.

"I see…"

"He's Kiba's flatmate," Naruto said, belching low in his throat and Sasuke grimaced.

"He's got mad game bro," Kiba said, his voice breathy.

"No, we're not," Sasuke said, unamused at being called bro.

"No way, he does not," Naruto said.

"No, no, you don't understand. I live with him, you hear things all the time, and it's never the same girl," he said, whispering but was actually being really loud.

"Then get over there and do something before he closes," Naruto said. "I didn't come here to babysit your non-existent love life,"

"Yes you are, it's the only reason I invited you…when did your boyfriend get here?" Kiba frowned.

"You're hopeless, you knew what you wanted and you've drank how much now?"

"I was nervous," He whispered really loud again.

Naruto sighed, "Fine, whatever, I'll go over there," Naruto said as he walked through the people in the house. Sasuke figured that it was growing a little more and more crowded.

"You think she'll go out with me man?" Kiba asked, losing his balance when Naruto pulled away.

"I don't know, but I imagine you should find out before her cousin gets here," Sasuke said.

"What!?" Kiba grabbed his shirt, "how did that happen?"

"Naruto invited him…" Sasuke said prying the man's fingers from his shirt.

"That fucking dick, I'm going to kill him," He said about to take off.

"You really want to show her how much of an asshole you are before she even knows you exist?" Sasuke asked.

"Fuck…logic…man, I hate you," Kiba said, "and your boyfriend," He said.

"He invited her here didn't he?"

"Yeah…I guess…" He said.

"Hn…" Sasuke was regretting his decision to attend already.

"Man…you guys give good advice," Kiba said as if he had just heard something profound. "I should go talk to her…"

"Looks like she's coming this way," Sasuke said as Naruto headed back toward them with her in tow.

"So much insight…" He murmured in wonder.

Sasuke groaned as Naruto showed back up. "This is Sasuke," Naruto said. "You remember Kiba right?"

The girl looked at Kiba and nodded quietly before her eyes trained back on Naruto, "Y-yeah, your friend…he's studying the sciences?" She said.

Kiba looked at him and he grinned, "Y'hmm, that's me," He said before leaning over to Sasuke, "she remembers."

"S-sasuke is it?" She asked and she held out her hand. Sasuke looked at it for a moment and decided for Naruto's sake that he'd just play along.

"Yeah," He said as he shook her hand briefly and he noted the smile on Naruto's face when he did it.

"Yeah, he's in CRIM. This is Hinata, we have an art history class together," he said.

"I love art," Kiba said as he looked at her.

"I'm in business actually, but I thought the class sounded interesting. Besides it was the only art class I could take without being in the program," She said with a shy smile as she kept her eyes trained on Naruto, Sasuke didn't like that.

"I bet..." Sasuke said, he really shouldn't have agreed to this.

"I love busi—"

"—You want a drink, I'll go grab you something okay?" Naruto said, cutting Kiba off before he said something stupid.

"I-I'd really like that," She said ducking her head with a smile and Naruto smiled back with a nod before turning toward the table. Sasuke was about to follow when he felt a hand on his arm and he turned.

"You showed up," it was Sakura, she had a small smile on her face.

"I said I would," Sasuke shrugged.

"I was wondering, do you want to get together sometime this weekend to work on that project? I mean, let's start over, that whole…whatever it was in the caf isn't even a big thing," She said awkwardly.

"Sure," He said thinking over the discussion he had with Naruto over giving his phone number out. "Where's your phone?" he asked.

"Riiight here…" she said and dug it out and handed it over and Sasuke input his number. "Hey Hinata, long time no see," She said with a smile.

"Hey Sakura, I like your dress," her stutter sure seemed to be fixed.

"This old thing? Thanks, it's one of my favourites," She said looking down at how she was dressed. Sasuke just looked over his shoulder to see Naruto talking with the same guy who Sasuke had talked to earlier.

"How's Naruto been? He missed last class, I hope he hasn't been sick," She said.

"Naruto? Nah, you don't even have to worry about him, he probably just had a project due and skipped class," Kiba said, Sasuke agreed.

"He never gets sick," Sakura said. "No, really, I've known him forever and I've never seen him get sick before. Better be prepared Sasuke, I bet he's a big baby when he's got the flu," Sakura said with a smile.

"He can take care of himself," Sasuke said as he took another drink, waiting for that loosened feeling.

"Cold man, I bet he'd take care of you," Kiba said.

"He probably would," Sasuke said, really it wasn't their business.

"I don't get it," Hinata said quietly "I thought he still lived with his parents…"

"He lives with his guardians," Kiba said clearing his throat.

"Oh, I'm sorry…I didn't know," She said quietly.

"He wouldn't have been offended," Sakura said. The speakers in the house were turned up even louder, and it got even more difficult to hear the woman, especially now that she was whispering to Sakura.

"Do you know if Naruto's seeing anyone?" She asked, Sasuke just barely heard it.

"Oh boy…hey let's go for a walk okay?" Sakura said taking her arm and tugging her away, but not before sharing a look with Sasuke.

"Hey, where you going?" Kiba called.

"Just leave them," Sasuke said taking another drink.

"Fuuuck, I need to at least talk to her before Neji gets here," Kiba groaned.

"How do you know him anyway?" Sasuke asked.

"Naruto, I dunno…he was just kind of in the caf. He looked like he wanted to skin Naruto alive…wait, how do you know him?" Kiba asked, a perplexed look on his face.

"Roommate," Sasuke said.

"Duuuuude, that's gotta fucking suck. How are you still alive?"

"I think a better question is how he is still alive," Sasuke muttered.

"Hey, where'd they go?" Naruto said he had a couple bottles in his hand. "Fuck it, I'll have it," He sighed.

"Sakura is leading her to fucking Narnia, I have no idea," Kiba muttered.

"Chill, I have her number, I can just invite her to the next one if you don't fucking man up this time and talk to her properly," Naruto said.

"I probably would if you didn't invite that jackass Neji here," Kiba said and just as he did someone yelled in one of the other rooms, something about the song that was playing.

"You know if you just ask her out she would probably say yes," Naruto said.

"Why, did she say something about me?" Kiba asked, his elbow on Naruto's shoulder.

"Well not exactly," Naruto said rubbing the back of his head.

"She likes you," Sasuke muttered looking right at Naruto.

"What the shit is with you and girls man? Can't you just, I don't know? Not?"

"I'm not doing anything! I mean fuck, girls wouldn't even talk to me in high school I don't know what's going on," Naruto said sounding completely flustered.

"Your face is stupid," Kiba muttered and he stalked away.

"I don't like her," Sasuke said wondering what Naruto's panicked rambling had been about.

Naruto looked at him and frowned, "I don't even think you're right about her liking me," he said as he took another drink. "Besides, why would it matter?"

"She conveniently doesn't know about me," Sasuke said. Naruto stared at him for a long moment before he just turned and walked away. "We're not done talking about this."

"Aren't we?" Naruto said as he kept walking. "Shika! Hey Shika! How you doing man? Have you met my boyfriend, this is Sasuke, he's my boyfriend," he said Sasuke's lip twitched.

"In fact I have met him, how much have you had to drink?" Shikamaru asked, his brow lifted.

"Uh, one and a bit…barely," Naruto shrugged. "Hey Ino, you remember my boyfriend Sasuke right? He's right here," Naruto said grabbing his arm and Sasuke swatted at his hand.

"Who could honestly forget? Hey," She said with a flirty smirk on her face.

"Hey…" Sasuke muttered with a nod.

"Hinata was asking about you Naruto, has she caught up with you?" Ino said and Sasuke's lip twitched.

"She's found him just fine," Sasuke muttered.

Ino blinked and looked at the brunette, "Shikamaru, I think Sasuke might know," She murmured.

"Know what?" Naruto frowned before looking to where Sakura dragged that girl off to.

"That she's attracted to you," Sasuke said.

"Shikamaru, Sasuke definitely knows," Ino whispered loudly while her hand covered her forehead.

"Doesn't everyone?" Shikamaru said, sounding bored.

Naruto stared at Ino for a moment before looking at Shikamaru his eyes narrowed a little in confusion, as if he were trying to weigh the facts. "Naaaaah, she doesn't," He said leaning back.

"Oh come on, have you ever seen her around you?" Ino said.

"I thought I was the socially stupid one around here," Shikamaru muttered. Sasuke got the feeling he wouldn't care if he was, as he put it, socially stupid.

"What do you mean seen her around me? She's just a nice girl she's like that around everyone," Naruto said with an incredulous look on his face.

"She stutters only when she's around you," Sasuke muttered, he had only spent a few short moments with the girl and it was painfully obvious.

"No she doesn't, that doesn't even mean anything," He said with a frown.

"How would you even know, you can't exactly see her when she's not around you," Sasuke said.

"I think that you're just paranoid, you jerk," Naruto said leaning closer to him, maybe leaning up just a little to match Sasuke's height.

"Uh…Sasuke's right Naruto, I mean you're all she talks about when you're not around," Ino said as her fingers combed through her bangs a moment before making sure to fix the tresses right back into place.

"She asked Sakura if you were seeing anyone," Sasuke said. 

Naruto looked at Ino and he relaxed, but only a little. "Fuck me…" He muttered.

"Maybe later, I thought you knew…we thought you knew, you should probably talk to her since you obviously haven't," Ino said.

Naruto looked off toward Sakura and Hinata before he let out a breath and slowly moved the bottle up to take a drink, "Yeah…I guess so," Naruto said breathily.

"I don't like her," Sasuke muttered.

"Is someone jealous?" Ino said leaning into Sasuke's shoulder with a sly smile on her face.

"I don't care if you don't like her, she's my friend…probably," Naruto said looking at Sasuke with defiance on his face…it must be the alcohol. This was a little part of the blonde that Sasuke recognized from long before that snake bastard tried to rip it out of Naruto. He wasn't entirely sure if their relationship was mostly in a state of peace and that's why Naruto's previously whirlwind personality wasn't always raging or if the blonde felt the need to supress it.

"Fine," Sasuke muttered putting his empty bottle down, deciding that maybe getting shitfaced would be a bad move if Naruto was going to get this worked up over one beer.

"Probably?" Ino frowned.

"Well I mean, I don't know if she wants to be friends or if she just…I dunno," He said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Naruto, so this is…your boyfriend then," Hinata said as she walked up on the group, her stutter sure seemed to be gone.

Ino's eyes shot up to the ceiling and she grabbed Shikamaru's arm and tugged him off to the side, "Hey, I think Chouji must have finally showed up, look he's calling us…go, over there, move you lazy—" her voice faded out as she pushed Shikamaru away from them.

"Uh, yeah we've been together for a bit over a month," He said his hand resting on the back of his neck.

"You know, you didn't have to hide it," She said. She was talking low, like Sasuke couldn't hear her anyway.

"Uh, hide what?" Naruto frowned.

"That you're gay," She said.

Naruto blinked and looked at Sasuke and it looked like he was going to laugh but he quickly pulled himself back in before making that stupid mistake, "Uh…yeah, I didn't think I was. I mean, everybody already knows, I just kind of figured…that I didn't have to say anything?" His voice was getting higher.

"You just kept asking me to these parties," she said.

"Did I?" his voice went up another octave and he looked over his shoulder. Sasuke already knew that was all for Kiba, but it still irritated him.

"Am I dumb? I mean I thought you were flirting with me all those days we ate lunch and y'know…paired off to study…"

Sasuke took a long drink as he watched Naruto's face as the flush started creeping up his neck. She wasn't crazy, Naruto did that a lot to basically everybody that he ever talked to. Sasuke was starting to think all the flirting was in his head. "Paired study group hm?"

Naruto cleared his throat, "I was just…being friendly. I mean…Hinata, I'm sorry that I didn't say something, I didn't know you uh…I didn't…I'm sorry," He said looking defeated. "I just thought you might want to…"

"There you are!" Kiba's voice sounded.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, they were back to the four of them again. This was…not the way he imagined this night going down.

Kiba opened his mouth, to say what was starting to sound like an actually awful pick up line before Naruto hooked his arm around Sasuke's shoulder and pointed his bottle at Hinata for a moment. "Have you met Akamaru yet? You like dogs right? He's probably just out back, best dog you'll ever see, Kiba quit being a dick and go introduce her to him, you'll love him," he said with a grin.

"I love dogs," She said quietly with a nod.

"Me too, shit…yeah, I want to be a vet actually all thanks to Akamaru…mostly. He's over this way, I'll show you," He said before flashing a toothy grin at Naruto as he headed toward the back yard.

"That was close…" Naruto said quietly.

"Yeah, he almost said something stupid…again," Sasuke's lip twitched.

"No, I mean that," he nodded toward the door where Neji stepped inside with some girl with brown hair.

"Oh…" no, this definitely wasn't how he pictured the night.

-::0::-

A few more beers into the night and Sasuke finally realized what people meant about Naruto, although he didn't really see how a drunk Naruto could possibly be the best thing ever…unless the best thing ever was Naruto on the table basically stripping as he danced…oh, he just got why Ino seemed to put so much stress on Naruto's inebriated state. He didn't like this.

"Is he always like this?" Sasuke asked, he had decided to stay with just the one beer for the night.

"Uh, yeah…I think he likes the attention," Shikamaru said. Naruto had been right when he suggested he stayed close to Shikamaru, he was quiet and level headed, even if he was on number 5 and still no change in his stone faced boredom.

"He gets plenty of attention," Sasuke muttered…not even just from him.

"I thought he might not do this, since this is the first one you've been to…but no, I guess he just likes being free. I don't really pay that much attention," Shikamaru said.

Sasuke looked at the other man and found he had to disagree, Shikamaru definitely paid more attention than most people. "Does he ever strip fully or do I have to drag him off that table?"

"Usually he's down by now, I don't know where Kiba is," he looked around. "He usually drags him off of there yelling something about him hogging…I dunno, something?"

"You didn't answer the question," Sasuke said, he was quite angry watching the display, he recalled a text from Naruto earlier in the night stating 'people only invite me to parties to ignore me :(' Maybe Shikamaru was right in his first assumption. Maybe Sasuke should have agreed to dance with…no that wasn't happening.

"Dunno," he shrugged.

"Damn it…" Sasuke muttered and with a heavy sigh he headed over toward the table. "Come on Naruto," He said just loud enough to hear over the base filled music.

"Sasuke! You change your mind?" Naruto grinned down at him and held his hand out.

Sasuke frowned and he grasped at Naruto's wrist and tugged him gently, "Yeah, come on now," he said as he helped him down from the table.

"Really?" Naruto's smile was blinding and it almost made Sasuke feel bad for lying.

"No," Sasuke said once Naruto was finally down and he was faced with a frown.

"Ugh, you're a jerk, I was having fun," He said as he grabbed for the dwindling supply of alcohol.

"I think you've had enough," Sasuke said stopping him before he could get there.

Naruto looked perplexed for a moment as he stared over at the table and then back to Sasuke.  
"Mn…maybe you're r-right?"

"You don't sound too sure about that," Sasuke muttered as he gathered Naruto's missing shirt and handed it to him.

"I…I uh…don't think I'm sure about anything," Naruto frowned as he began to tug his shirt over his torso before he looked around and saw Sakura and a grin took his face over. "Sakura do you wanna dance?"

"Uh…I don't think Sasuke would like that much," She said with an amused smile on her face, at least she was at least a little perceptive.

"Sas'ke doesn't wanna dance, Sas'ke doesn…doesn't? Doesn't get a vote," He muttered before he paused, "Hey Sakura?"

"Hm?" She said looking up at him.

"Where's your brazier?" He asked with a frown, articulating the word quite well for his inebriated state.

"What?" Sakura let out an absurd laugh at the comment.

"You have no straps…" He frowned.

"Oh, this dress wasn't made for a bra," she rolled her eyes and turned around to show her bare back, the dress restarting just after the small of her back.

"Ooooh…" Naruto frowned and shook his head for a moment before he hugged her quietly.

Sasuke frowned as he watched the two and he grabbed Naruto's wrist, "We should probably go," Sasuke said.

"I'm mad at you," Naruto said with a frown, "But…you're right," he said before turning back to Sakura. Sasuke really didn't know what to make of the situation, but was pulled away from the thought when Naruto leaned forward and hugged Sakura a second time.

"Hey…you okay Naruto?" She said throwing a confused glance at Sasuke but he had no answers for her.

"You be safe 'kay? Love you," he muffled.

"Uh, you too okay?" She said patting his back before Naruto unwound his arms and turned back to Sasuke with a bright smile.

"Onward!" He yelled and pointed to the door just as the song ended, but people were either too engrossed in what they were doing or too hammered to notice. "You tell Kiba not to fuck it up!" he yelled back at Sakura before Sasuke urged him toward the door.

"Come on, it shouldn't take too long to get home," Sasuke said with a hum.

"Home, I like that word," Naruto mumbled he was heavily leaning on Sasuke by the time they got half way down the street.

"Me too," Sasuke said.

"We should just live together," Naruto said his eyes half lidded.

"I think we'd both need jobs for that to work out," Sasuke hummed, trying to ignore the fact that Naruto was actually saying things like that.

"I'm look'n for one, Sakura's g'nna help me," Naruto said leaning even more weight on Sasuke's shoulder.

"You two spend a lot of time together don't you?" Sasuke said with a snort and hooked his arm around Naruto's waist to help support him a little more.

"Mnnn jealous?" Naruto asked and laughed low in his throat. "Yeah, she's hard to handle sometimes, but she's…she's good, yeah…." He said looking up at the sky.

"You wish," Sasuke muttered regardless of how close to home Naruto's words landed.

"Aw, you're my favourite okay?" Naruto said awkwardly tugging him to the side for a kiss.

"Hn," Sasuke breathed in deep once Naruto pulled back and urged him in the direction of his house. They weren't far off now.

When they arrived back at Naruto's place the blonde pushed the door open, "We're home!" he called out into the empty house before he snorted to himself and he walked in, his balance only a little questionable.

"Moron," Sasuke said as he toed off his shoes before moving to toss his coat on one of the hangers.

"Jerk," Naruto said before he laughed quietly as he kicked his shoes off messily. He looked at the hanger where he had hung his coat and he grumbled something that Sasuke didn't quite hear before he knocked the coat on the ground. "Fucking bastard," He huffed.

"Alright, let's get you up to bed," Sasuke said and he reached for Naruto's sweater.

"Leave it," Naruto said as that defiant expression overtook his face again.

Sasuke watched him for a moment before he stood back up, "Fine, come on, let's go upstairs," Sasuke said and he watched a smile spread over Naruto's face again as he nodded.

"I think we'd have all the, uh, the tacky cups," Naruto said.

"What?" Sasuke frowned as his arm wrapped around Naruto to keep him balanced a bit better, or maybe Naruto was walking just fine and Sasuke was just looking for excuses to be near him.

"When we live together, I'm buying all the tacky cups," Naruto said looking over his shoulder at Sasuke as he urged him to the top of the steps.

"You're dreaming," Sasuke snorted at the notion of ugly cups in his house.

"You think you're going to stop me, I'm going to do it Sasuke, I'm going to buy all the cups, you just wait. We're going to be those creeps with the collection of cups. I saw this one at the aquarium, if you drink from the straw the dolphin inside spouts water!" He said with a frown as he swatted at Sasuke's hands.

"We'd have to live together before you buy all the cups," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"What are we waiting for then?" Naruto frowned as he walked into the bedroom and stretched before promptly flopping on the bed with a muffled groan.

"Jobs, remember?" Sasuke said, really just trying not to upset Naruto. They hadn't been dating for long enough to move in together. People would think they were crazy.

"Fiiiine," It was muffled but Sasuke understood before he fell silent laying on his stomach.

"Oh no, you need out of those clothes," Sasuke growled out.

"Fiiiine," Naruto said again before he rolled over onto his back and watched Sasuke from beneath is lashes, looking almost sober for a moment, that was until Sasuke found a foot placed firmly on his stomach.

"No."

"C'mon Sasuke, you're the one being fussy," Naruto's foot wiggled against his abdomen and Sasuke growled again. "You're kind of sexy when you make noises like that," Naruto said with a sly smirk.

"Shut up," Sasuke muttered only because of the situation as he moved to yank at Naruto's sock.

"Other one," Naruto said, his other leg resting against Sasuke's stomach and he shook his head.

"You're not helpless," Sasuke said.

"Y'hmm, you need to get my pants too," Naruto said, laughing to himself.

"Undo the button then," Sasuke said, really just wanting to get in bed and lay down.

Naruto laughed again but it quieted down before his hands moved down and did as Sasuke instructed. The odd gaze that Naruto had trained on him didn't change as Sasuke tugged him closer, distorting the neatly made bed as he placed Naruto closer to the edge of the bed. Naruto's arms rested above his head before he shifted his hips and any idea of Sasuke complaining fled his mind as he tugged the jeans down Naruto's hips and farther down his legs until he could toss them away.

Naruto's head tipped before he shifted on the bed by himself, not missing a beat he sat up completely and he lifted his arms up and not even a moment later Sasuke was slowly pulling Naruto's shirt up and over his head before he tossed it aside too. Naruto's head was tipped up, Sasuke couldn't handle the azure gaze, especially not when Naruto's hands moved to Sasuke's pants. "Naruto…" Sasuke said cautiously.

"Hm?" Naruto didn't really seemed to care what Sasuke might have to say as he hooked his fingers in the loops of his pants and tugged them but didn't quite pull them down. "You've had a lot to drink," Sasuke said quietly.

"And?" Naruto seemed less interested as he stood, forcing Sasuke a step back as he focused on his shirt then.

"So maybe…we should sleep," Sasuke said swallowing thickly at the half lidded gaze Naruto wouldn't rid himself of before the shirt was on the floor as well.

Naruto's lips were on his a moment later Sasuke lost his ability to think as Naruto's tongue slid against his. All bets were off when he felt Naruto's thigh between his legs before the bond began to grind against him sparking an intense sense of desire deep within his belly. Naruto's hands gently caressed up his sides and to his shoulder blades before he tugged him toward the bed. "M'not tired," Naruto murmured before Sasuke found himself on his back with Naruto straddling his hips.

"Really th—" all forms of protest died when Naruto's lips found his again and he groaned as Naruto pressed their hips together grinding in the most pleasant way. "Shit," He whispered when Naruto pulled back and began to tug at his pants and in his pleasure fogged mind all he could think of to do was lift his hips as Naruto rid him of his clothes while Sasuke yanked his shirt off and threw it aside.

Naruto leaned back over him and the teasing kisses he trailed down Sasuke's neck sent shivers running through him. Naruto's hands hooked on his briefs and with his gaze on Sasuke's face he tugged them down releasing the erection that had formed there. Naruto's hand wrapped around him and Sasuke's head fell back, his eyes closed and he let out a breath. He had attempted to keep any thoughts of a scenario like this supressed for what seemed like forever now. "I've never done this," Naruto said, his previous confidence seemingly on the backburner.

Sasuke's eyes opened and he looked down at Naruto, "You don't have to," He breathed, ready to shift so maybe they could do something else. Naruto just shook his head and experimentally ran his tongue along the head and Sasuke let out a groan that stretched into something a little louder and a little more strangled when Naruto took him into his mouth and slowly began to find a rhythm that drove Sasuke to the brink of release before his hand in Naruto's hair urged him up.

Naruto's pulled back, his lips parted when he looked up at Sasuke and he settled back, "What's wrong?"

Sasuke shook his head, "C'mere," he breathed and Naruto crawled over him and Sasuke leaned up and latched his mouth onto the curve of Naruto's neck before his hands caressed down his back and his thumbs slid into the hem of Naruto's boxers. "This okay?" He asked breathily when he pulled back.

Naruto's eyes were wide before he nodded quietly and Sasuke slid them down over the curve of Naruto's backside, taking the chance to grope the other man before reaching around to grasp the erection that mirrored his. "Sas…" Naruto said his name like a curse.

"Hm?" Sasuke watched Naruto's face as he began to stroke him, watching as the pleasure slowly forced Naruto to settle himself in Sasuke's lap, his legs too weak to hold himself up.

Naruto's breathing increased and Sasuke's eyes never left his face. "Feels good," He murmured quietly before his eyes opened and grasping Sasuke's member in his hand he began to reciprocate. Sasuke was already so close, but he didn't protest and just let them both ride this out until they released.

Naruto's brow unwrinkled slowly afterward he came and he relaxed with a slight tremble in his body before he smiled and he shifted to lie on his side. He didn't say anything and neither did Sasuke as he sat there panting quietly with his eyes closed. When they opened again to look over at Naruto, the blonde had already fallen asleep and Sasuke breathed out with a smile before getting up to clean them off before settling down sideways on the bed with his arm on Naruto's side, one hand interlinked with the blonde's

-::0::-

_There was a knock at the door that sounded throughout the house even though the construction was dated and left the walls thick enough that you could hear very little from the outside. Naruto didn't pay attention to it as he sat up in his room looking down at a bunch of math equations that made no sense to him. They were as puzzling to him as his life was, how he came to be in his current situation. Nothing he did ever seemed to matter so he didn't know why he bothered. Keeping his head down was the only thing that seemed to spare him the cold calculating stare that came from every waking moment with Orochimaru. He found himself attempting to focus back on his work when he heard a familiar voice filter through the walls and a wild sense of dread settled inside of him._

" _Child, you will have to speak up," it was Orochimaru's voice before he heard the laboured words of his only friend, a boy a few years younger than him, the only person who ever really seemed to need him…the only real person anyway._

" _I was wondering if Naruto i-is home?" Naruto stood and he quietly opened the door even though he wasn't supposed to be out until dinner. He needed to make sure that nothing bad happened, he couldn't let Orochimaru take over that part of him too, it just wasn't fair._

" _Such and odd name, I've never heard of it," Orochimaru said._

" _I-I've seen him come in here," the voice was so filled with fear, it was in no way the adamant nature he had always seen. All confidence seemed to be lost, Orochimaru did that to a lot of people though._

" _I think you should leave," Naruto could picture the eerie attempt at a smile spreading over serpentine lips before the door quietly shut, but no footsteps sounded. Naruto was frozen and he turned trying to make his way to the bedroom as quietly as he could. "You're out now, there's no point in trying to hide."_

_Naruto's eyes squeezed shut and he felt a chill run through him as if it was squeezing him from the outside in before he stood up straight. "I didn't tell him I lived here," Naruto said quietly. He wasn't allowed guests._

" _I would trust only you to ruin silence, go set the table," Orochimaru didn't look at him when he walked by…that was never good._

" _Yes sir," Naruto whispered as he looked down not falling for the false sense of security that inaction might have presented._

_The silence continued until dinner was presented on the table. Naruto sat quietly across the table from Orochimaru staring down at his plate set on the intricately woven placemat, the perpendicular forks on each side of his plate, it was pristine. Everything looked amazing, Orochimaru was arguably talented at everything he did, but even as he stared down at the plate likely worthy of amazing restaurant prices Naruto couldn't taste anything anymore. He almost hated how he used to be thankful for these meals, as if a good meal and a roof over his head was worth all this. Naruto was seriously beginning to doubt it. "Pass me the salt Naruto," Orochimaru requested once Naruto had almost finished his meal._

_Naruto reached for the shaker and he handed it over thinking on how he hated the way his name rolled off the man's tongue. He was too occupied to notice the shaker falling from his hand as Orochimaru's hand wrapped around his fingers. "Please don't…" Naruto said in alarm, his eyes wide as he watched the pale hand locked around three of his fingers._

" _We have rules in this house for a reason, if only you could get that through your simple mind then we'd get along so much better," Orochimaru said as if he was concerned as he slowly began to push Naruto's fingers back, but only enough to stretch the muscles until they burned._

_Naruto swallowed and he tried to tug his fingers back but couldn't at the awkward angle, it just made it hurt more. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again I promise," He pleaded, the desperation welling up in his throat as the man's hand closed tighter around him and fear gripped at his insides forcing his breathing to quicken as if he couldn't get enough air…it was suffocating. "Ple—" Naruto couldn't form any words before a raspy cry of pain was torn from his throat, so much so that his voice faded out of existence as a sickening crack sounded and there was nothing but searing pain radiating through his arm as Orochimaru forced his fingers backwards. There was no amount of twisting that Naruto's body could have done to avoid what was probably a break in at least two of his fingers. He was shaking when the man let his fingers go and Naruto cradled his hand to his chest breathing heavily and unable to keep the pain from pricking tears in his eyes._

" _It pains me to have to hurt you this way, child," Orochimaru's voice was soft as Naruto tried to think through the pain. "Such a shame to ruin something of such fine craftsmanship…"_

_Naruto's eyes squeezed shut and he let out a half sob before sucking in a deep breath as he rested his hand and for a moment it felt like the pain was gone, only a slight underlying throb as long as he didn't move. "S-sir…" he didn't know what to say to convince him to let him leave and take care of himself._

" _Wash the dishes, perhaps if you do your job correctly we can go have that tended to," he said, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin before he stood and left the room leaving Naruto to stare at the table. Naruto could only swallow and make a pitiful attempt to save his hands._

Naruto had no idea how right he was when he mentioned that he only ever dreamed of Sasuke because Naruto was all Sasuke ever dreamed about. No matter how vague the dream, it always had something to do with the blonde and by this point in their lives Sasuke was accustomed to it. Sasuke's eyes opened and he felt an overwhelming sense of dread as he stared up at the ceiling. These kinds of dreams he would never get used to. Sasuke dreamed about Naruto's hands all the time, all he usually saw were Naruto's lightly tanned hands moving, he had these dreams starting when he was a child and always thought of it as a dance. The dark hands always moved with grace and precision and he had become absolutely fascinated with it when he was a child. It wasn't until he was 10 that he finally clued in between dreams that what he was seeing was sign language.

"What time is it?" Naruto said with sleep clouding his voice. He stretched and he turned around, his eyes weren't even open.

"Dunno, daylight though," Sasuke said quietly and wondered what was going to happen now, wondered how he could keep this front up.

"Gross…" Naruto muttered, not seeming to be dwelling on the night before. Sasuke didn't know whether he should be even more frightened that Naruto wasn't acknowledging it, it was an awful jumble of feelings to live with.

"How's your head?" Sasuke asked quietly, Naruto had a considerable amount of alcohol the night before.

"Uh, fine?" Naruto said, his eyes opening to look up at Sasuke before they moved to focus on his chest. Naruto's hands slid onto his torso and gently glided upward, maybe he did remember.

Naruto let out a low breathy laugh before he leaned forward and caught Sasuke's lips in a slow sensual kiss. When he pulled back his eyes remained closed until he relaxed back on the bed and he sighed. Sasuke shifted and gathered Naruto's hands in his own, drawing Naruto's gaze to his face. "You okay?" his mouth was dry.

"I'm sorry I acted like such an idiot last night," Naruto muttered.

Sasuke's brow lifted and his thumbs brushed along Naruto's knuckles and he leaned back. "You remember? You had a lot," Sasuke said cautiously.

"Mhmm, I acted like an idiot," he reiterated.

"It's fine," he said softly, because he acted like an even bigger one.

"No, it's not," He said.

"Don't worry about it, I was starting to think you were perfect," He said trying to push the guilt he felt away regardless of how okay Naruto seemed to be about how the night ended.

"Oh…" Naruto let out a breathy chuckle, but it was half assed at best as he sat up, his legs were already over the edge of the bed since they'd slept sideways. As he sat up he just rested there for a moment, the muscles in his back tense and Sasuke was wondering what he said wrong, maybe Naruto wasn't okay with it.

"Nar?" He frowned as he leaned up on his elbow.

"Nah, far from it," He said grinning over his shoulder, but Sasuke had become well versed in Naruto's genuine expressions and that wasn't one of them.

Sasuke watched him for a moment before he sat up, his hands moving to Naruto's back. "You alright?"

"Hm? Why wouldn't I be?" He said a look of confusion on his face. That one was almost believable. "Hey, I'm hungry," He said as he sat up, not seeming to mind that he was completely bare as he walked around the bedroom.

"Yeah?" Sasuke asked.

"Mhmm, I'm gunna shower wanna join?" He asked with a smirk on his face as he headed toward the bathroom down the hall apparently still not caring about his state of undress.

Sasuke didn't answer, at least not verbally. He sat there and watched as Naruto disappeared down the hall and looked around the room. It was neat if you ignored their clothes that were strewn about. Everything was on angles until he came to the picture of Naruto's parents which was askew, and not at a perfect 45 degree angle, it was haphazardly placed. It wasn't what he had expected from the blonde, he almost expected the place to be a complete disaster. He got up threw on his boxers before heading down the hall. Naruto had left the door open and was standing in front of the mirror with the shower running behind him. Sasuke watched him for a moment and realized that Naruto mustn't have heard him. There was a sombre look on his face as he studied his reflection, he tilted his head before silently moving up with a squeak he spread his hand across the mirror. "Naruto?" Sasuke murmured before he walked in and cautiously he wrapped his arms around Naruto from the back resting un-pursed lips on Naruto's shoulder.

"Oh, Sasuke I thought you were going to skip out," there was a blinding smile on his face but there was still no fooling Sasuke, he could see that when Naruto touched the mirror his hand was wet. Their reflection was distorted and there were heavy water drops running down the length of the mirror.

"I'm sorry about how I behaved last night," He said, wondering if that was the problem.

"What?" Naruto frowned, genuinely confused this time.

"You had a lot to drink…I should ha—"

"—Whoa, whoa, whoa, none of that," Naruto said his hands moving to pull Sasuke's arms away. "Do you regret it, like did you not want to?" Naruto asked.

"No, I mean, I should have waited," he said stumbling over his words a little.

"Sasuke, you're thinking too hard about this. If I didn't want to be with you or if I wasn't ready I would have fucking said it, drunk or not. I mean shit, are you sure it's what you wanted?" Naruto said.

Sasuke frowned and stepped back, now completely confused, "Nothing like that…" Sasuke said.

"You're sure?" Naruto seemed concerned now.

Sasuke let out a sigh before he tugged Naruto forward and he pressed his lips to his forehead. "I just don't want to fuck things up by doing something stupid," He said. If he hurt Naruto, he'd probably never forgive himself.

"You didn't fuck anything up," assured him before he chuckled. "You're kind of sweet," He said.

"Shut up," Sasuke mumbled.

Naruto prodded at his cheek with his finger, drawing his lip up. "Naaah," He said as he looked toward the shower, "Come on jerk face, we're wasting hot water," he said before stepping into the shower that was now steaming up the room.

"Yeah, fine," Sasuke said and followed after him his mind at ease at least on one account.

-::0::-

"Huuuurry up, Oh my god Sasuke," Naruto said with a huff as Sasuke fished around his room for his keys.

"Well if you didn't toss my coat around last night I'd know where they are," Sasuke muttered.

"Are you saying this is my fault?"

"Well it isn't mine," Sasuke snorted.

"You're an ass," Naruto said.

"You know this would go a lot faster if you'd help me move this shelf," Sasuke said as he carefully pulled items off of it to place on the bed.

"Fine," Naruto said as he knelt down and started helping. "This is a lot of crap to be trying to pack into a dorm room…"

"I thought I might need the books for reference, why mess around the library if I have everything I need?"

"You spend all your time in the library anyway. This is the first time I've seen you since Sunday," Naruto huffed.

"Yeah, well I've handed in my last paper and I've done a bunch of exams in class. I have one more next week and I guess I'm free for a bit," He said as he nodded toward the shelf and they both managed to inch it forward.

"Oh, look! There they are," Naruto said as he leaned over. "I think I can reach it," Naruto said. The shelf was too long and awkward to pull out far as it was tucked between the desk and the bed and the room was cramped as it was.

"Your arms going to be long enough?" Sasuke smirked.

"Fuck you, we're the same height," Naruto grumped.

"No, you're not," It was Neji's voice as he walked through the door. Sasuke hadn't heard the lock at all.

"Fuck you, Neji!" Naruto growled while stretching his arm as far out as he could behind the shelf.

"Maybe I should just do it," Sasuke said.

"No, I'm almost there," Naruto said and after a short moment of wiggling on the ground trying to inch himself farther behind the shelf there was a jingle and Naruto let out a loud curse.

Sasuke stared at Naruto who had his face squished against the shelf. "You just pushed it farther didn't you?"

"No…" Naruto said, he slumped down to the ground and groaned.

"Lose your keys?" Neji frowned as he started setting up his desk after tossing a key of his own onto the table.

"It was the dumbass's fault," Sasuke muttered.

"Well try to keep your god damn tongue away from my ear then if you want me to thi—"

"Please stop talking," Neji said.

"Prude!" Naruto muttered as he sat up with a sigh just as Sasuke's phone rang.

"Oh…" Sasuke dug it out of his pocket before answering it. "Oh…okay, hold on. It's my mother, I'm going to step outside for a moment," Sasuke said as he got up and headed toward the door hoping that both of them would be alive when he got back.

-::0::-

It was quiet as soon as Sasuke stepped out. Naruto stared behind the shelf at the keys and sighed as he leaned his head back against the wall and watched as Neji began to look through one of his business text books. "You know, you don't seem like the business-y type," Naruto said calmly.

"Wow, you must think you're perceptive or something," Neji said, not even looking up.

"I'm not saying you're not a business man or whatever, I mean you probably got the whole intimidating thing working in your favour or something," Naruto said. Neji didn't say anything and Naruto sighed as he tried to shift the shelf a bit more, but only managed an inch. "Y'know…I saw you at Kiba's," he said.

"Free beer was a great incentive to show up to that shitty party," Neji said.

"Was that girl you were with your girlfriend?" Naruto asked, he really doubted it.

"Tenten? No, she's just a friend," he said, but he waited so long to answer Naruto thought he wasn't going to.

"Oh…she's really pretty," Naruto said, "she seemed really down to earth,"

"Did you talk to her?" Neji said.

"Hm, only for a minute," he had a good feeling about her though. "So, she's not your girlfriend…" Naruto mused.

"I fail to see why you're so interested in her, you supposedly have a boyfriend," Neji said.

"Hah, nothing like that, I just met her and I've got Sasuke!" Naruto said as he stood up and tried to reach over the shelf this time, but didn't fare any better.

"So, if you didn't have a boyfriend then?"

"What? No, I'm not interested in your friend," Naruto said with a frown. She was attractive sure, but Naruto was a bit of a romantic in the way that he really didn't just go for looks. "Besides, I'm pretty sure I'm gay," he muttered.

"Pretty sure?" Neji frowned.

"Not the point!" Naruto said as he looked behind the shelf. Naruto had been as attracted to women as he had been to men, several in fact and quite intensely, but he really just couldn't see an honest way to make any of the hypothetical relationships work. "So, are you gay Neji?" Naruto asked.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Neji said, but Naruto could see that he was tense.

Naruto breathed in deeply as he watched the reaction quietly before he walked over to Neji's side of the room and sat on his bed. "You know…"

"Get off my bed," Neji said a hint of anger in his voice.

Naruto looked at him for a moment before he tipped his head to look at the fan he had drawn on the window. "I'm not going to say anything about your sexuality to anyone or anything. I'm not an asshole," Naruto said with a shrug before he turned to look at Neji who was trying to make a point of not looking at him. "But, I know it can be a little difficult finding people who really understand especially when you're away from home, but my friends are really good people. If you ever want someone to hang around with that you can be yourself around I mean, you can come hangout whenever…or you know just hangout even if you don't want to be out," Naruto shrugged.

Neji didn't say anything, and Naruto figured he probably wouldn't. Neji stood a few moments later and he walked over to the shelf, it only took a simple fluid movement for him to swoop over the shelf with his long arm and tug the keys out. He headed back over and stood in front of Naruto and held the keys out. "Get off my bed."

"Oh, sure," Naruto said with a grin as he grabbed them and let out a laugh as he walked a few short steps over to Sasuke's bed and flopped down onto it as Neji sat back down at his desk.

Naruto sighed before he got up to push the shelf back in before he heard Neji's voice again. "Naruto?"

"Hm?" He said looking over his shoulder as he stood back up straight from where he was bending over.

"Thanks," He said quietly.

Naruto's eyes widened before he relaxed and smiled, "No worries," He said with a mock salute before he pushed the shelf back in the last inch and a comfortable silence fell over the pair of them as Naruto organized the shelf.

-::0::-

"Sorry about that," Sasuke said as he stepped back in the dorm and he saw Naruto putting the books back on the shelf.

"Whatever," Naruto waved his hand, "Just give me a sec."

"You reached the keys?" Sasuke said surprised as he moved over to help put things back on the shelf.

"Look at me, your knight in shining armour," Naruto said with a grin as he bumped Sasuke's shoulder with his own.

"I grabbed them," Neji said, not looking up.

Sasuke frowned and looked at his roommate before looking at Naruto with a confused look on his face, "Uh, thanks," He said.

"Neji! Not cool," Naruto frowned but there was a small smile on his face that might have meant something happened when he left.

"What's going on?" Sasuke frowned.

Naruto blinked before he looked down to the book in his hand. "I don't know what you're talking about," Naruto said as he looked at the shelf that was now separated by cover type and size instead of alphabetically like he originally had it.

"Sure…" Sasuke said as he placed the last book on the shelf in the pattern Naruto seemed to have going.

"Hm…" Naruto stared at the shelf a moment before he grabbed a small book and wiggled it in between a few of the larger texts he had. The shelf was almost perfect except that one book that stuck out between the towering texts.

"Done?" Sasuke asked, his brow arching.

"Mhm, you ready to go?" Naruto asked while looking a little nervous.

"Yeah, let me grab my coat," Sasuke said.

"Great!" Naruto said as he stood up and he leaned against the shelf and shoved his hands in his pockets. It only took a moment before they were heading out. "See you Neji!" Naruto said cheerfully.

"Hn…" if Sasuke didn't know better he thought he saw Neji's hand wave over his shoulder, but that made no sense.

It took a good 10 minutes to walk from the student residency to the art department and when they got inside the building seemed to be fairly empty. "All the classes are during the day," Naruto said with a shrug. "They've got some life drawing on some nights, but they've stopped until next year," Naruto said with a smile. "There's one final class tomorrow so there might be a few people around working until they get kicked out…I do that sometimes," Naruto said with a sheepish grin.

"I see," Sasuke said as he looked around. The halls were filled with artwork, most of them looked like they belonged to certain classes but there were pieces missing here and there.

"That one's Sai's," Naruto said pointing over to an ink drawing on the wall.

"Oh…any of them yours?" Sasuke asked.

"Nah, I took mine down already since they need to be cleared off before next semester," Naruto said with a shrug before they continued on. Naruto pointed out the rooms to him and pointed out artwork of his classmates and went into their specific art styles.

They rounded a corner and Sasuke hooked Naruto's fingers with him before he tugged him close and caught his lips. "I'm crazy about you," Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto flushed before he let out a laugh and he tugged him toward the end of the hall. "Me too," He said rubbing the back of his neck. "Graveyard is this way," He said as they walked through a weird room with canvassed tables. "This is the ceramics room. I'm no good at shit like this, I'm glad I don't have to take this class if I don't want to," He said as they moved back to another room that had music sounding from it.

Sasuke blinked as they stepped inside. It was a full concrete room, it was a decent size and it looked like a gigantic mess. There were paintings propped up against the walls, tucked into a large slotted shelf specifically designed for the paintings and up on various easels that looked abandoned, there were sculptures and piles of wood and scrap metal set up in one corner. There was paint on the floor and all over the wall and there were drainage slots in the ground. "Whoa…" he muttered.

"Heh, yeah," Naruto said. "Anything left behind gets tossed over the next couple of weeks," Naruto said.

"Graveyard…" Sasuke said.

"Yeah," Naruto said as he waved over to a group of people in the corner that had an ipod on a speaker blaring music. They waved back but continued talking amongst themselves.

"Sai!" Naruto said as he headed toward a lone easel in the back.

Sasuke blinked as he looked over toward the man sitting on one of the stools. He was ghostly looking with black hair and black eyes and he looked very focused on the canvas in front of him, he didn't even look up to look at Naruto. "Saaaai!" Naruto tried again before he waved in front of his face.

"Oh…Naruto," the man said with a confused look on his face before he smiled eerily. Sasuke couldn't shake the feeling that the other man seemed familiar. 

Naruto waved again, "Hey, I want you to meet Sasuke," he said but Sai just looked confused.

"Oh…right, sorry," Naruto nodded and he began signing with nimble hands and Sasuke blinked before watching the man's face as recognition dawned on his face.

"Oh, Sasske," He said in a slightly while his hand moved to his ear and he scratched at the lobe.

"Sasuke," Sasuke tried to correct him.

"Ah, almost," Naruto said as he began signing again and Sai just frowned at him. "Here give me your hand," Naruto said as he grabbed for the man's wrist and Sasuke was unsure how he felt about their familiarity with one another. He was too confused to really focus on it, especially when Naruto held Sai's palm in front of his mouth, "Sasuke," He said once more.

"Sasuke…" Sai said.

"You got it!" Naruto said with a grin.

"Oh, good," Sai said and Sasuke remained confused. "Sorry, my hearing isn't so great," He said with a smile.

Sasuke nodded before he felt something flutter inside of him as he moved his hands, he remembered this, how to say 'nice to meet you'…Naruto's hands moving and though the dreams were silent he knew what it meant as if it had already been in his head. "You're Sai, right?" Sasuke asked.

Sai nodded with a smile.

"Sasuke, I didn't know you could sign!" Naruto said with a grin.

"Uh…I don't know much," Sasuke admitted.

"Oh, that's fine. Come on, you just gotta make sure Sai can see your face when you talk," he waved his hand and Sasuke came a little closer. He felt like he was intruding on something as if he were the outsider.

"Sasuke's my boyfriend," he said with a shrug, but he was signing the entire time as he looked over his shoulder to smile at Sasuke.

"Oh, so this is your solution to being dickless then," Sai said.

"Excuse me?" Sasuke said, eyes narrowed.

Naruto was completely still his hands suspended in front of him in mid gesture before he suddenly grew really loud. "Go to hell Sai!" He growled. Sai just sat there and smiled as he looked back to his painting without saying anything. "Ugh, come on," Naruto muttered as he slid off the stool and headed toward the shelves.

Sasuke watched Sai for a long moment before he turned and followed after him, "What the hell was that?"

"He's just being an ass," Naruto said with a huff as he tipped the canvases to get a look at the front of them before he started pulling one out. "He says stupid shit like that all the time," He sighed.

"Then why are you so angry?" Sasuke asked.

"Because he knows I don't like it," He shrugged seeming to have calmed down and sighed heavily. "He wants to be left alone," Naruto shrugged and dragged the canvas over to a vacant easel that was seated right by an unfinished looking sculpture.

"How do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Don't take it personally, it's just kind of loud in here. He can hear relatively okay when it's quiet, but the music makes it hard for him to hear so he'd probably have to rely mostly on lip reading…we've got a big project due tomorrow so he has to paint too. If it were quiet, he could probably hold a conversation well enough while painting at the same time, can't do that with all the background noise," he said with a shrug.

"And you got that how?" Sasuke frowned as he looked over his shoulder.

"He says shit to piss me off because he knows that I'll storm off…I dunno, I just got a feeling I guess," He said as he slid one of the canvas out walked over to an easel and hoisted it up. "Besides, I was going to show you art, Sai being here was just a coincidence, so here it is," he said as he revealed the large canvas.

Sasuke recognized it instantly to the point that he was absolutely stunned. He walked forward silently and he moved to touch the canvas but stopped himself and let his hand fall down to his sides. "This is…"

"Uh…yeah," Naruto said rubbing the back of his neck as he set the paints down that he had carried with him in a container. "It is," he confirmed as he started setting up.

"It looks just like it," He said, remembering the dreamscape filled with cadmium colours…he still remembered the fear he felt as a child as he stumbled into Naruto's world escaping from the nightmare he thought his life had been. His fingers moved to the bottom corner where the dark muddy colours rested and among the teal trees there were two ambiguous figures huddled together their hands linked, it was them.

"Yea the uh, the project was on dreams," Naruto said quietly.

"I thought you were the weirdest person I had ever met…" Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto laughed as he sat down on the stool and started mixing paints, "I thought you were a jerk…well you kind of were," Naruto mused.

"That's probably Itachi's fault," Sasuke said.

"You think everything's Itachi's fault," Naruto said as he began to paint.

"No, I know everything is his fault," Sasuke said with a snort as he grabbed one of the many chairs and sat down and watched in fascination…he had felt so isolated back then. He had no idea what the dreams meant, but he was almost certain that in that solitude and undeniable loneliness he felt his dream guide or whatever the raven was had delivered Naruto to him because that's what he needed. He knew that just like he knew that it brought him back to Naruto the night that his parents died, because Naruto needed someone too, he wanted to believe that it was because there was no one else properly suited to do the job.

"Sure, I don't have any siblings but I'm sure he feels the same about you," Naruto said with a smirk.

"He's too busy thinking about himself to worry about me," said.

"Sure, sure…" Naruto said as he placed the handle of the brush in his mouth to hold it there before he grabbed another paint brush and used that in its stead.

"Here," Sasuke reached up and grabbed the brush, holding it for Naruto.

"Mn, thanks babe," Naruto mused.

"Cut that out," Sasuke growled low in his throat.

Naruto laughed quietly as he continued working, adding shadows and a weird blend between dimensional and flat. "You know…I was really nervous when I read the assignment," He said quietly.

Sasuke finally tore his eyes away from the painting and looked at Naruto feeling a weird feeling as he saw that Naruto already had paint on his cheek. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Naruto continued fast paced paint strokes and didn't look at Sasuke even once. "You're all that this has ever been about, It's just hard to share this part of me. I wanted to make something up, I really did, I just wanted to bullshit this project right from the get go, but I don't even know how to begin fabricating something like that. What do normal people dream about?" Naruto stopped and turned to look at him.

Sasuke swallowed and he understood immediately under the intense blue gaze. "I-I don't know," Sasuke said quietly.

"Funny how my imagination can fail me, that is kind of what this is supposed to be about isn't it? This art thing," Naruto chuckled to himself.

"You do that a lot, don't you?" Sasuke said quietly, maybe he had finally figured it out.

"I don't get it," Naruto said with a frown.

"You compartmentalize your life…you keep everything separate," he said judging from how Naruto didn't want to paint these dreams because others would see.

"Is this because I didn't introduce you to my friends right away?" Naruto frowned.

"No, only sort of," Sasuke said.

"You've met them, they're certifiable!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Is that why you haven't introduced Sai to them, but you were fine inviting Neji to that party?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto was growing tense and he stopped painting for a long moment. "Sai doesn't venture far out of the art department…the cafeteria is all background noise, he doesn't like it. Neji needed to meet some people," Naruto said.

"I doubt Sai would be opposed to meeting people though," Sasuke said.

"He's really important to me Sasuke…I dunno, he's a really good friend," Naruto said.

"How long have you known him?"

"Beginning of the semester…but I had a feeling okay? I trust my gut, the last time I didn't…" Naruto let his arm fall to his side and he stared at the painting for a long time. "It just didn't turn out so well," Naruto said quietly and Sasuke recalled the dream he had of when Naruto first met Orochimaru and that sense of distrust that settled the second Naruto had laid eyes on the man, Sasuke felt guilty.

"And you feel like you shouldn't introduce him to your friends? They want to meet him, is he not important enough to introduce to them?" Sasuke didn't want Naruto to bolt but he couldn't stop himself.

Naruto frowned and looked at Sasuke, "That's what you think?" Naruto said quietly.

"I don't know what I think," Sasuke admitted.

"Liar, you think that I was hiding you because you weren't important enough to meet my friends, you're wrong," he said as he turned to look at Sai who was calmly working on his artwork. "He reminds me of a friend I used to have. They weren't anything alike, not really…Konohamaru was hard of hearing too. He had it pretty bad, he used to get picked on a lot and I dunno. I know what you thought when I was always showing up all beaten up and everything, truth is I got in a lot of fights over that kid," Naruto smiled.

"You did?" Sasuke remembered seeing Naruto bruised all over on multiple occasions. "But you said tha—"

"—Not all of it was Orochimaru," Naruto said quietly and he shrugged.

"You think you're protecting him…" Sasuke said, "But from what?"

Naruto looked down at his hands that had paint on them too and started picking at it quietly. "Sai doesn't need protecting," Naruto said.

"Then what is it?" Sasuke said.

"I don't want to talk about it," Naruto said quietly.

Sasuke watched the blonde as he began to paint ad he let out a breath as he tried to sort through all the information he had been given but found he was only left with more questions and perhaps a substantial amount of jealousy. "Sure," Sasuke said quietly as he leaned to rest his elbows on his knees and they stayed like that for a while. Sasuke helped where he could, but mostly watched.

"I'm not keeping you away from the people in my life Sasuke…I'm keeping everyone else away from us…" Naruto said quietly.

Sasuke blinked and he stared at Naruto for a long time, but the blonde kept his face turned away as he busied himself with mixing paint on his palette. "Naruto?"

"It's always been just you and me Sasuke," he said quietly.

"Hey…look at me," Sasuke urged and Naruto just sat there for a few long moments before he finally turned to look at Sasuke. "It's still you and me though," Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto smiled and a quiet laugh bubbled from his throat as he nodded quietly. "Yeah, I guess it is," he agreed quietly.

Sasuke didn't really care that there were other people in the room when he leaned forward and caught Naruto's lips. The others weren't paying attention, and it really was just them. He understood it though; Naruto's entire existence was made up of acts of self-preservation. If his relationships were going well, he tried to keep them in a static state because he didn't know what changes might do to unravel them. He pulled away from the tender lip lock and rested his forehead on Naruto's for a moment and breathed in the light scent of the cologne Naruto had put on. "Change can be good you know?" he said.

Naruto bit the inside of his lip and he looked toward the painting, "I know," he whispered.

"I mean, we changed," He said remembering a time when they were friends, when they had no idea where one another were. It all seemed so distant now in the short time they had been together.

"I guess we did," Naruto said.

"You know…you can tell me anything," Sasuke said quietly. He remembered all those years ago lying on the river bank beside Naruto as the blonde fumbled around silence trying to tell him something. Instead of revealing his original intent he simply told Sasuke he didn't want things to change, like the admission would ruin them.

Naruto's lip quirked and he nodded quietly, "Sure," he said.

Sasuke nodded, not feeling very reassured in that statement but he let it go, smiled, and continued watching as Naruto somehow made the already perfect painting even better. "Hey, I can go grab us something to eat if you don't want to get up," Sasuke offered.

"Fuck yes," Naruto said with a grin, their previous conversation seemingly forgotten.

"Alright, I'll be back in a bit," He said.

"Oh, that door right there opens, just toss something to keep it propped and you can get in that way," Naruto said pointing to the large double door to the room.

"Okay," Sasuke said as he headed back outside and headed toward the cafeteria with his hands in his pockets.

-::0::-

Sasuke came back about twenty minutes later and when he opened the doors and noticed that Naruto was talking with someone.

"Wow Naruto, it's really good," a blonde girl said as she hovered over Naruto's shoulder.

"Oh, thanks," He said with a smile.

"Here," Sasuke said when he came closer handing out the paper bag to him.

"Thanks," Naruto said with a grin as he looked inside, "Sasuke you're the best," Naruto said as he found the sandwich inside.

"Sure," Sasuke mused as he sat down in his chair.

"How do you do the…inverted paint splatters?" She asked pointing to the tree tops and made a circle motion with her fingers where Naruto had decided to shade in an unconventional manner.

"Oh, well…you just put the acrylic on," He said placing a few strokes down in a messy fashion, "Wait a few seconds for it to dry a little…flick some water on it," He grabbed a paint brush and flicked the bristles onto the paint, "Wait another few seconds for it to settle then grab a cloth and dab at the water," He said as he did as he instructed. When he dabbed at the water the paint lifted with it, leaving the pattern of the water drops behind.

"Wow, that's really great…it looks perfect, I bet you'll get an A+ tomorrow," She said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh…thanks," He said with a hum and he turned back to the food Sasuke bought him.

"No worries," She said and she looked at Sasuke and nodded before she headed back to the group of people working in the corner around the speakers.

"Hey Naruto?" Sasuke watched as Naruto began to eat as he stared at the canvas in front of him. He got an odd sense that something was wrong.

"Hm?" he didn't look away from his painting.

"Thanks for showing me this," Sasuke said.

"Whatever, there's more in there if you want to poke around for'em. Mine are the ones edged in colour," he said with a wide smile.

"Right," Sasuke stood and he walked over to the shelving unit where there were several edged in black making Naruto's stick out. His fingers rested on the canvased frames and he tipped them as he looked through and pulled one out of a raven and he looked over his shoulder to take a peek at Naruto. It had been a bit of a heavy talk, but it felt good. He spent time looking at all of them, Naruto was talented there was no doubt about it. He could see echoes of their dreams in them, but they were rarely obvious to Sasuke, he had to look. When he was done he went back and sat down and started eating.

"Uh, I'm heading back home for the holiday and my mother…she kind of, she wants to know if you want to come with," he said quietly after some time had passed.

"What?" Naruto dropped a paintbrush and left it there.

"You don't have to feel pressured about it," Sasuke said watching Naruto's face.

"Do you want me to go with you?" He asked cautiously.

"I don't mind," Sasuke said, he was under the impression that this would never end, what difference did it make Naruto meeting his parents now rather than later?

"But do you want me to go?" Naruto said again.

"I want you to meet my parents, it doesn't have to be now if you don't want to," He said.

"Sasuke, yes or no…" Naruto said with a frown.

Sasuke was quiet for a long moment as he tried to weigh what he thought the right answer might be. "Yes," he eventually decided.

Naruto nodded and tipped his head as he thought. "I've gotta talk to Iruka, but I'll go with you if it really isn't any trouble," he said.

"Really?" Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction.

"Yeah…do you think they'll like me?" Naruto asked.

"They'll love you, just don't be worried about how my father is going to act," Sasuke said.

"You said that he's really guarded," Naruto said. "They're okay that I'm a guy?" He sounded worried this time.

"I think so," they had said as much when he told them about Naruto.

"You're never brought anyone to meet them?" he frowned.

"There's never been anyone to bring home," Sasuke shrugged.

"You've never dated anyone before?" Naruto's brows lifted in surprise.

"No…I have, it just…it wasn't this," He said gesturing between the two of them while he focused on a paint stain on the wall.

"How many?" Naruto asked.

"Oh…" it seemed like a trap, "Two," he eventually admitted.

"Oh," Naruto tipped his head, but he smiled.

"How about you?" Sasuke asked cautiously.

"Uh, two…too," He chuckled at the sentence. "I'm sorry, I made it awkward, I was just curious. I mean Iruka and Kakashi don't care…obviously," he shrugged.

"I don't think they care," Sasuke reiterated.

"Itachi going to be there?"

"I hope not," Sasuke said.

"Rude. When are you leaving?" He asked.

"In about four days," Sasuke said.

Naruto leaned back from the painting and he smiled, "Good, gives me some time to take care of Iruka, I mean I've been 18 for a whole month now and he still treats me like a baby," Naruto laughed.

"They sound nice," Sasuke said.

"They're crazy," Naruto shook his head and it left Sasuke wondering if that's why he hadn't met them. "Oh my god, I'm suddenly nervous," Naruto said shaking his arms out a little to rid himself of the nerves.

Sasuke smiled and he reached over to grab Naruto's hand, "It'll be fine," He said, really hoping it would be.

TBC…

OddlyEnded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that wasn't a long wait at all :c I've been going through the worst writer's block so I'm trying to get through it by editing and revising old stories/chapters. 
> 
> I'd love to know what you think~


	5. Chapter 4

Naruto sat in the passenger seat of Sasuke's car with his knees pressed to his chest much to Sasuke's disbelief that he could fit his entire self on it. He of course had been forced to take his shoes off, with how clean the interior had always been he wasn't really surprised. "So, uh…Sasuke?"

"Hm?" Sasuke's eyes were on the road, his hands at 3 and 9 despite everything Naruto had ever heard about hands on wheel placement.

"You think it's too late to turn around?" He asked. He had this overwhelming dread seeping throughout his entire chest cavity. This was a whole new kind of fear Naruto hadn't ever felt before. He was suddenly hyper aware of how flawed he was, he was inappropriate, loud, he never knew the right thing to say and despite everything that Sasuke probably thought he knew about Naruto, Naruto was very aware that he was a bit of a pathological flirt.

"Naruto, we're going to be there in 20 minutes and we've been driving for two hours," Sasuke said, the snow had slowed them down considerably.

"I knew I should have said something when we stopped at that gas station," Naruto said as he looked out the window at the passing scenery.

"You didn't have to come if you didn't want to Naruto," Sasuke said, not taking his eyes off the road.

"It's…it'd probably be fine, but I'm staying overnight. Isn't it early?" Naruto asked. "Most people just go for dinner," He ran a hand through his hair and gripped it tightly and thoughts of proper etiquette started flashing through his head as well as the punishments for disobeying them. "I mean, I guess I didn't think about it."

"Honestly, if my mother had her way, you'd probably be there all week…My family is pretty big, and they're pretty intrusive," Sasuke said.

"Wouldn't most people say tight knit?" Naruto asked.

"Intrusive is a far better word for it," Sasuke said with a shrug. "I try not to bother with them too much."

Naruto looked at Sasuke and he tipped his head and started to feel a little more calm as he leaned his head on the window. "I dunno, sounds kind of nice," Naruto said quietly.

Sasuke was quiet for a long while as he drove, taking an exit into the city where he lived. "I guess…"

Naruto frowned as he recognized the tone of voice that said he made Sasuke feel guilty again. His lip twitched and he didn't know how to say anything about it to fix it. "I bet Itachi's there," He said, pulling a grin on his face. Evasion and misdirection were what he was best at after all.

"Shh," Sasuke hissed at him, and reached his hand over to cover Naruto's mouth. "Don't speak of such things," he grumped.

Naruto let out a laugh as he pushed lightly at Sasuke's hand. "There anything I shouldn't do?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Uh…stay away from being crude and eating with your mouth open, I think we'll be fine. That's pretty standard though, right?" Sasuke said.

"I guess," Naruto said, they hadn't really prepped for this. "How much longer?"

"20 minutes," Sasuke said.

"Right," Naruto said and he closed his eyes, just trying to prepare for whatever nightmare he was going to step into.

-::0::-

When they pulled up to the house, Naruto wasn't all that surprised to find a two story house with pristine white siding. The garden was absolutely beautiful and covered with remnants of snow. He could imagine what it looked like in the spring, like the kind of garden he had always wanted for himself. "Looks better than my house," Naruto said but he didn't mean much by it.

"My mother enjoys taking care of it, they can be a little old fashioned," Sasuke said.

"It looks nice," Naruto said as he grabbed the bag he had placed his change of clothes in before going to the trunk to help Sasuke out.

"No, it's fine," Sasuke said holding up his hand as he pulled a single bag out.

"If you say so," Naruto said with a frown as he waited for Sasuke before following him down the walk way and up the front steps.

"You think it would be weird if we just waited here for a sec?" Naruto asked. He wasn't used to feeling this panicked, not anymore at least. He just knew of how much of a fuck up he was, and from the sound of things when they were growing up, Sasuke was very aware of his father's expectations of him.

Sasuke let the bag slip to the ground with a light thud, "Hey," He said and he reached forward placing his hands on the sides of Naruto's face. "It's going to be fine," He said.

Naruto felt the heat creeping up his neck and he managed a dumb smile, "Fine," he parroted before moving to slap at Sasuke's hands. "Get off," He said with a grin.

"Dumbass," Sasuke said patting Naruto's cheek enough to make a slight slapping noise.

Naruto's mouth fell open and he snorted, "You're lucky that your parents are on the other side of that door or you'd have a giant pile of snow down the front of your pants," Naruto muttered.

"I doubt it, you'd probably end up with your face in the snow," Sasuke smirked.

"Hey, I'm perfectly capable of kicking your ass Uchiha!" Naruto said, probably a little louder than he should have.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Sasuke said as he ducked down and caught Naruto's lips and Naruto felt warmth spread through him again and he shook his head before pulling away.

"You're home!" a female voice sounded and Naruto's eyes widened.

"Mom…" Sasuke said as he stood up a little straighter and Naruto felt like burying himself in the snow now. He wondered how much she had seen.

"I thought I heard something," She said with a smile and she reached forward and gathered Sasuke in her arms. Naruto instantly forgot the embarrassment that he had felt, because even though Sasuke was stiff and gently removing her arms from his person, it was a very sweet scene when Sasuke leaned over and rested an arm in the middle of her back just a moment prior.

"This is Naruto," he said.

"Naruto…" She tested his name out before her eyes widened and Naruto felt the weight of her gaze on him.

"It's good to finally meet you, Mrs. Uchiha, I've heard a lot about you," He said reaching his hand out for a handshake before she pushed it away.

"Nonsense, you should call me—"Sasuke cleared his throat and made a weird gesture. "—Call me Mikoto," She said with a smile before she stepped forward and enveloped Naruto in a hug.

Naruto's eyes widened this time and his arms hung at his side as he looked at Sasuke, his brain ceasing to function for a long moment. "M-Mikoto," he murmured quietly to himself before he finally managed to jumpstart his brain enough to rest his arms on her back. This embrace, it felt so familiar and safe that only a deep and shaky breath kept the emotion from pouring over the brim. Emotion he would have been able to explain if he tried.

"Sasuke, get inside, what's the matter with you? You're letting all the heat out," a man said from inside the house.

"Right," Sasuke said as he placed a hand on his mother's shoulder. "Mom, go inside," he said quietly.

Mikoto pulled back and smiled up at Naruto and he somehow managed to mirror it. "Come inside, love, let's get you warmed up," She said grasping Naruto's arm and tugged him inside.

Sasuke grabbed his bag and hauled it over his shoulder as he stepped in and closed the door. His father seemed to have disappeared back inside the house. Sasuke had mentioned not to be bothered, but Naruto still didn't know what to make of it. "Come, let's put your things down, dinner is almost ready," She said not letting go as she led him down the hall, he wondered how she could do and say things so gently and still manage to manipulate him into doing what she wanted him to. Naruto looked over his shoulder at Sasuke who just smirked at him.

"Right," he said as he followed her, all too surprised when she brought him to what didn't look like a guest room to him.

"Come now, you can leave your things here," She looked around quietly before noticing something. "You have a very small amount of luggage Naruto," she said calmly.

"Uh…yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't want to impose," he said trying to find words that played the part well.

"Nonsense, Sasuke you didn't invite Naruto to stay longer?" She sounded disappointed.

Sasuke frowned and he walked passed her and he set his bag down on the bed…that's why it didn't look like a guest room. "Naruto has family to stay with as well, mom," he said. Naruto had no idea how unguarded Sasuke was around him until he saw all his walls snap back into place as he spoke with his mother.

"I see," She said and she turned to look at Naruto and placed her hand on his face, he didn't have the heart to ask her not to, but maybe she wouldn't see the scars, but he wasn't that naive. "Your mother must be so proud she doesn't have to beg her baby to come home," She said quietly and Naruto straightened up.

"Mom, stop it," Sasuke said with a frown.

"No, I think you could learn something here Sasuke," She said as she pulled her hand back and Naruto was able to find his voice again.

"Its fine Sasuke," Naruto said and he felt a smile tug on his lips. "My parents passed away when I was a child, I live with my guardians though," He said.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," She said as she looked him over quietly and Naruto felt another heavy weight on his chest at the words she used and he put on a smile.

"It was a long time ago," He said and he had to convince himself not to look to Sasuke for support. He wasn't that kind of person. "You have a beautiful home," He said.

She smiled and nodded, "I'll go finish dinner before your father ruins it," She said and she turned and showed herself out.

"Sorry, I didn't tell them," Sasuke said quietly.

"It's fine," Naruto said. He recognized something in Mikoto that reminded him of his mother. Their personalities weren't the same from what he remembered, but there was something.

"If you're sure," Sasuke said as he started unpacking some of his things.

"Your room is boring," Naruto said as he walked around it. Not a single poster anywhere, books filling the shelves and a few pictures. It actually wasn't too different from his room. "Where are all the wall scrolls of your favourite emo bands Sasuke?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer," Sasuke said as he tossed his things into his dresser.

Naruto sat down on the bed and leaned back on his arms and watched Sasuke as he moved around, trying to shuck off the nerves he was still feeling. "I guess your brother isn't here," Naruto said with a smile.

"Thank fuck," Sasuke said as he yanked off his shirt and cruelly tossed on another from inside his dresser.

"Do you think your mom needs help in the kitchen?"

"Naruto, I think we both know you shouldn't be allowed in there," Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Shut up," Naruto said standing with some mock frustration. The playful attitude died quickly though, "I just mean, I could set the table or something," He shrugged.

"You can try," Sasuke said, smirk not leaving his face and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I think I will, enjoy unpacking," Naruto said as he stood hearing Sasuke snort as he stepped out of the room. He felt a little awkward in the house, he lost his direction for a moment before he decided to follow the sounds toward the kitchen. When he finally found it he ducked his head around the corner to see Sasuke's mom tending to the stove. "Hey, I was wondering if you might need some help?"

Mikoto stood up straight and looked at him over her shoulder and smiled in a regal fashion. "You don't have to worry yourself, Naruto," She said.

"It's fine," Naruto said waving his hand and she nodded and suggested he set the table. When Naruto was out in the dining room he looked at the six chairs and he tipped his head, wondering where he would be better off putting the plates and settled for taking the middle chairs instead of the end ones.

"I sit here," came a deep voice and Sasuke's father stepped into the room while clearing his throat.

"Oh, I can fix that," Naruto said, fighting the urge to flinch and instead put on a smile as he placed a plate on the end where the man had gestured.

"Sasuke never mentioned he was seeing anyone," he said as he moved his hand to adjust a fork before he observed it and left it where Naruto had placed it.

"It hasn't been very long," Naruto admitted, even though the length of their relationship didn't seem applicable to conventional dating stereotypes.

"No, but you and Sasuke have ben acquainted for a long time, have you not?" Fugaku didn't move, he simply clasped his hands in front of him. It was rather intimidating.

"Ah, I guess so. I never thought of it that way before," Naruto said with brief faltering smile. "Not to say that I think that time was insignificant, just that, I know that people usually wait to make sur—"

"—And are you sure?" Fugaku stared at him and Naruto stared at the plate in his hands and tipped his head.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," Naruto said quietly as he tipped his chin up to look the man in the face. Sasuke was both the only thing that made sense in his life, and the one thing that made the least.

The man looked at him and he nodded before he walked forward and he tapped the table, "It goes here, he said gesturing to another spot at the table pointlessly since it was obvious Naruto would have set it down there eventually.

"Thank you…" Naruto could feel his heart race a little faster at the pressure as he lowered the plate down.

"We haven't been properly introduced, that's rude of me. My name is Fugaku, please feel free to call me as such," He said holding out his hand.

"Naruto," he introduced himself and took the hand and received a powerful shake.

"Fugaku, go fetch Sasuke," Mikoto's voice came from the hallway where she was bringing plates out.

"I can go," Naruto said dipping his head before he headed down the hall while Fugaku nodded and moved to help relocate everything to the dining room. Naruto walked swiftly down the hall and when he got to Sasuke's room he closed the door behind him and leaned on it.

"Everything alright?" Sasuke said as he looked up from what he was doing.

"Your dad is scary," Naruto whispered loudly.

"He's not going to do anything," Sasuke said with a frown.

"No, I know. I just need a sec," Naruto said with a hum. "Dinner's ready though."

"Better get down there then, he hates being kept waiting," Sasuke said.

"You told him about us knowing each other?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke paused for a long moment and looked tense. Naruto couldn't figure out why he might be acting that way, "Kind of, it was really vague," Sasuke admitted.

"I think that maybe we need to talk about how we tell people…I mean, just so we're not all messed up and being all contradictory and whatever. It'd be really confusing if you're all like, okay so we met in kindergarten once upon a time and then I was like, well I went hand gliding this one year and there was this ner—"

"—Are you done?" Sasuke cut him off, not looking impressed.

"I…uh, yeah…" He said and he ran his fingers through his hair.

"We met at the park when we were six or seven. Your parents had a vacation spot near here so I'd see you during the summer time in following years…and then eventually kept contact through cell phones. My dad knows we lost contact…so that's a thing," Sasuke said.

"How would he know we lost contact?" Naruto asked, Sasuke sounded like he had thought about this, Naruto admittedly hadn't had anything other than passing thoughts.

"I may have mentioned you when we were in high school at some point. That's why my dad was talking to you about us meeting before. I haven't said anything to my mother more than what she forced out of me, so he has to remember from back then," Sasuke said.

"When…we were in high school?" Naruto said with a frown.

"Yes," Sasuke said, doing the thing he did when he was trying to end a conversation. The tone of his voice suggested he wasn't going to say any more on the matter.

"You're not telling me something, but I'm going to drop it until after dinner," Naruto said quietly hoping he wouldn't forget.

"Let's go then," Sasuke said, acting like he didn't care.

* * *

"So, Naruto, tell me what is it you're in school for, Sasuke hasn't told me much," Sasuke's mother said as she ate.

Naruto looked down at his plate and he tipped his head, "I'm taking a two year foundations art course right now. I'm still somewhat undecided on whether I want to continue on with my BFA and double major in Drawing and Painting. I also would like to be a sign language interpreter," Naruto said quietly.

Sasuke looked up at Naruto and he frowned to himself. He didn't know why, but they had never really talked about it. He knew that Naruto wanted to be an artist, but being an interpreter wasn't something he had been privy to. "Really?" his mom said. "Do you have any pictures of your work?"

"Do you mind cell phones at the table?" He asked. Sasuke wasn't used to Naruto acting so timid, but he imagined that he was trying very hard not to embarrass either of them in front of his parents.

"Not usually, but please," his mom said.

Naruto dug his phone out and he turned it on. It took only a few moments before he pulled a picture up, "Just swipe for other paintings," Naruto said with a smile as his mom took the phone from him.

"Art, that doesn't seem very stable," His father said as he continued to eat, not looking up from his plate and Sasuke's lip twitched.

"Ah, it's the best shot I have I'm afraid," Naruto said quietly and Sasuke could already here Naruto's self-worth plummet. "You can support yourself on art, but there's normally only one student per class that might do something. It's not just about talent, but ambition too," Naruto said.

"You have no ambition?" his father shot Naruto a look from beneath his hair and Naruto shifted in his seat.

"I'm trying to think practically. I feel passionate about interpreting, if I could practice art on the side regardless of making any income off of it, that's always good. Besides, art's not always about money," Naruto said.

"I don't get what else it would be for," He said, Naruto simply decided to stay quiet.

"Oh, honey, you must look at this one," his mother said and leaned over to show him.

His father looked for a moment before he turned back to his plate and continued eating. There was silence for a long moment as his mother continued to gaze down at the phone. "Naruto works really hard at what he does," Sasuke said quietly.

"It looks like it," said his father. Naruto probably didn't know, but Sasuke knew his father was at least a little impressed.

"I would love to see these in person someday," his mother said and gave Naruto's phone back.

"I wish I could have brought some all the way here, but I'm pretty sure they're too big for Sasuke's car," Naruto said sheepishly.

"What is it your guardian's do?"

"Uh, Iruka, he's a primary school teacher, and Kakashi used to work for law enforcement, but he's trying this new thing where he thinks he's a writer," Naruto said with a shrug. Sasuke's eyes stayed on Naruto, he hadn't heard of any of that either. He didn't know why they didn't talk about this sort of thing, but he found himself kind of angry that his mother was getting answers so easily out of the blonde when Sasuke likely had no chance.

"Law enforcement as well, how interesting," his Father said, and he noticed the odd gaze that he pinned on Sasuke.

"You're being so quiet Sasuke," He heard his mom say.

"Sasuke's pretty quiet all the time though," Naruto said thoughtfully.

"So true, he's never been much for chatter, even when he was a child. He spent most of his time day dreaming to himself," she said and Sasuke's lip twitched as he shared a glance with Naruto.

"Naruto, pass me the salt will you?" His father spoke.

"T-the salt, right," Naruto took a moment to respond and Sasuke was about to reach for it even though it was farther away from him, but Naruto beat him to it. He could see Naruto shaking and he felt something deep in his stomach clench as Naruto nearly knocked it over. "Here you are," Naruto said shaking his head before the bottle clattered to the table and the top popped off leaving the salt to pour into a neat little pile. "Shit, I mean…I'm so sorry," Naruto said as he stood. "I'm really…I-I don't know what happened, I just…" his breathing was growing faster as he tried to scoop the pile up. His father and mother were staring at him wide eyed and Sasuke needed to intervene.

"Naruto, please don't worry about it, it was an accident," His mother said, sounding soothing, but Naruto didn't seem to hear.

"No, it was clumsy of me, I'm always clumsy I just need to," Sasuke could hear the tremor in the blonde's voice and Sasuke reached his hand forward and very nearly clasped Naruto's hands with his. At that moment he saw the image of Orochimaru's hand firmly around Naruto's fingers and he stopped himself.

"Naruto," He said, firmer than he normally did. Naruto looked up at him, he was doe eyed, as if he were staring oblivion in the eye. "Leave it," He urged quietly, his and on Naruto's forearm.

"Excuse me," He said quickly when he stood then he headed for the front door.

"What on earth was that about?" His father said in an odd mixture of surprise and irritation.

"We need to talk about some things when I get back," Sasuke said as he stood. His father could wait, Naruto couldn't. He looked at his father for a moment and recognized an expression that said he was in trouble, but he didn't care. "Don't say anything to him about it," Sasuke said before he took off toward the front door. It wasn't hard to find Naruto half way up the block. His foot prints were in the snow and Sasuke huffed and turned back inside for a brief moment to grab Naruto's coat before he took off down the sidewalk running regardless of the snow and possible ice. "Naruto!"

"Go away Sasuke," Naruto said, his voice breathy.

"No," Sasuke said firmly, trying to play this correctly.

"This was a terrible, stupid fucking idea," he said angrily.

"Maybe it was a little soon, damn it Naruto can you stop?" Sasuke reached out and grasped Naruto's arm and he pushed him off, but he did stop to turn around.

"Sasuke, leave me alone!" He said, all the fear seemed to be gone and all that was left was Naruto's hot headed anger.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Nothing, I was all embarrassed because I'm sitting there telling myself that 'Okay Naruto don't be a fucking idiot, just fucking pass the salt no big deal,' but no I drop the fucking salt. I'm such a fucking dumbass!" His speech was beginning to speed up and Sasuke grasped at Naruto's wrists to stop his wildly gesturing hands.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked again, even though he already knew.

"I just told you," Naruto said trying to tug away, but Sasuke pulled him closer.

"Naruto…this is about more than the fact that we were having dinner with my parents," Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto looked at him, he looked cornered but instead of doing anything too aggressive, Sasuke laced their fingers together. "I…" Naruto started and Sasuke could feel him shaking as Naruto finally decided to close his fingers around Sasuke's too.

"You can tell me anything," He urged quietly.

Naruto looked at him before he looked back to the house, "It's stupid…" Naruto said quietly.

Sasuke's jaw tensed, it was hard not to blow his cover because panicking over such a severe memory was not stupid. "You also don't have to tell me anything," Sasuke made sure to say. Naruto looked off to the side and didn't say anything. Sasuke sighed and he nodded, "Whatever happened Naruto, a little salt isn't going to bother my parents," he tried before he stepped back. "If you're not going to come inside, put this on," Sasuke said holding up Naruto's coat.

Naruto looked at him before he reached an arm forward and as he turned his body he slid his arm through one of the sleeves before turning and repeating with the other. "Sasuke…"

"Naruto, I know a lot of fucked up shit happened before you ended up with Iruka and Kakashi…you don't have to tell me anything, but when things bother you, you don't have to run off. I'm right here," he said.

"I don't want to think about it. Talking about it means thinking about it." Naruto said.

Sasuke knew that wasn't good, he had some behavioural studies under his belt. Not much, but a little from school and a little from his father even though his father was absolutely shit at human interaction. "I'm still right here," Sasuke said, just letting him know the option was there.

Naruto looked at him for just a moment before he leaned forward and rested his forehead on Sasuke's shoulder. The raven breathed in deeply and felt a flutter beneath his ribs and he rested his hand on Naruto's shoulder blade. It was one very light touch before Naruto's arms were clinging around him tightly. "Shh…" Sasuke said.

"It was bad Sasuke…" Naruto whispered quietly.

A part of him wished he didn't know already, if only so Naruto could tell him first. "I know…" Sasuke said quietly.

"I don't think you do," Naruto muttered.

"I don't have to know if you don't want me to," Sasuke's speech was redundant, but he felt it was needed. He felt a familiar heart break at Naruto's silence. He was talking, but he wasn't saying anything.

"Okay…" Naruto said quietly.

Sasuke breathed out, his warm breath clouding in the cold air. "Let's go for a walk," He said quietly.

Naruto nodded against his shoulder and he rubbed the back of his head. Sasuke knew Naruto would follow him as soon as he started walking, but he opted to simply hold Naruto's hand instead. He remembered shortly after they reunited, Naruto made fun of him being a hand holder, but the reality was he still had a hard time believing Naruto was really beside him. "Your parents probably think I'm a freak," Naruto said after a while.

"My mother doesn't think that, she's probably just concerned," Sasuke said, if he had to lie about the dreams he had, he'd rather not lie about anything else.

"So your dad thinks I'm a freak," Naruto said and rubbed at his face with his free hand and groaned.

"My dad thinks I'm a freak, it's not a big deal," Sasuke.

"How in the world do I go back in there?" Naruto said.

Sasuke didn't know, so he stayed quiet for a moment as they walked at a beyond casual pace. "Well…we could just say you were nervous, and got a little too worked up…or you could tell them the truth," Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto groaned again, "Why do I have a feeling you're going to tell them either way?" Naruto said.

Sasuke froze and looked at Naruto before he cleared his throat. "Why would you say that?"

Naruto huffed, "I'm not even going to start with how flawed your thinking is," he said and he pulled his hand away.

"Naruto, it's not like that," He said quietly. He wasn't actually going to say anything, he just needed to straighten things out with his father more than give him Naruto's life story.

"What's it like then?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke grasped Naruto's hand again and this time the blonde didn't pull away he just kept walking. "They're just concerned, I'm not telling them anything I promise. Anything they know is going to be because you told them," Sasuke said.

"It's just hard to talk about," Naruto said as he kicked a little snow with his shoe.

"Don't even worry about me Naruto," Sasuke said, and he might have said something else if he didn't feel his footing slide against a sheet of ice on the ground. Next thing he knew his shoulder was smarting and he was staring up at the sky. Naruto let out a loud squawk and he tripped over Sasuke. When Sasuke gathered all his thoughts again, he was on his back on the sidewalk and Naruto's was as well with his legs strewn across Sasuke's middle suggesting that he tripped over Sasuke.

"Ughhhh, call 911, I think I broke my ass," Naruto muttered but he didn't move.

"Sorry, I uh…I guess I didn't let go of your hand," that was embarrassing.

Naruto shifted himself up onto his elbows and looked down at Sasuke, "Y'think? I'm going to have a bruise on my butt."

"Che, trust you to complain, you okay?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, how about you, you hit your head?" Naruto said and he reached forward and gently wedged his fingers beneath Sasuke's head and began to massage at it.

Sasuke's brows lifted and he shook his head, "No, hit my shoulder," Sasuke said quietly. Naruto's eyes were half lidded as he looked at Sasuke.

"That's a little better…" Naruto said before sucking a breath in through his nose and he laid back and stared up at the sky. It was cold outside, and it made sense since the stars were out in the middle of a snowy winter.

"Want to get up? Kind of a weird place for stargazing," Sasuke said.

"No…" Naruto said and he rested one of his hands on his stomach, his scarred cheeks were growing pink in the cold. Sasuke could only imagine what his face looked like.

"Okay, we'll stay here then," Sasuke said with a frown.

Naruto was quiet for a long while, spending time looking up at the stars. There were eventually a few streaks of light before Naruto finally decided to speak again. "Orochimaru had a lot of rules…I mean a lot of them were really generic, but if you disobeyed them the punishment was really harsh."

Sasuke turned his head to look at Naruto instead of the sky for a moment and Naruto quieted down. He reached forward and he pushed Sasuke's face so he could only see the stars again. "Don't look at me…" Naruto's voice rasped hard to get the words out, and Sasuke was left feeling helpless until Naruto finally decided to speak again, "I fucked up one day and we were eating dinner and he asked me to pass the salt. Instead of taking it from me, the fucker broke my fingers. It took me hours to convince him to help me set them, because I didn't know how," Naruto said quietly as he flexed his hand against his stomach, the same hand that had been injured.

Sasuke had to close his eyes to hear the words. He had seen it before, and he could see it so vividly again behind his lids. It was so much harder to hear Naruto saying it, harder than he thought it might be. "Naruto…" He murmured quietly. He didn't look at Naruto, but he reached out and grasped his hand gently before he brought his hand up to his mouth and kissed his knuckle. "The doctors never noticed anything?"

"What doctors?" Naruto said.

"Your fingers healed well," Sasuke said as he unwound Naruto's hand and grazed along his knuckle with his fingertips.

"I freak out about things sometimes…" Naruto said.

"I get it. Have you ever seen anyone about it?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto snorted and he sighed. "Fuck, yeah…a lot. It kind of just stops helping after a while, besides what the fuck do they know anyway? I'm fine…" Naruto said, but he didn't sound very convincing.

"Oh my god, bring me the phone there's two boys out here I think they're dead!" an older woman's voice sounded. "Why? Because they're not moving, why can't you just listen to me for once!"

Sasuke blinked as he heard it and he turned to Naruto who was staring over wide eyed before he burst out laughing. "We're fine! I promise!" He called out and he shifted up onto his elbow.

"Hold it, they're moving!" she called back inside. "You're not dead are you?"

There was the slightest mumble as Naruto awkwardly twisted his legs off of Sasuke before he lifted himself to his feet and held his hand out for him to grab. "We're alive!" Naruto called out again.

When Sasuke was standing as well he heard her voice again, "Who just lays there in the street! Don't tell me it's my imagination!" she yelled into the house before she slammed the door.

Naruto was having a hard time trying to keep a straight face. "Well, at least we know if we were in real trouble we'd likely get some help," he snickered to himself.

"You know, I've lived in that house my entire life, and I still don't know what her name is," Sasuke said.

"It's friggen cold out here," Naruto said all of a sudden as he looked back toward Sasuke's house.

"It doesn't help that you have snow melting all over your back," Sasuke said as he reached over and brushed it off before he felt Naruto doing the same.

"Not my fault, I'm supposed to be the one who trips, y'know?" He said.

Sasuke snorted and he pushed at Naruto's hands, "It was the ice, not me," Sasuke said.

"You can't even apologize, you like grabbed onto me with this giant hulk man grip and dragged me down with you!"

"I guess I can't live without you," Sasuke said before he froze for a moment before he cleared his throat.

Naruto looked at him, his eyes wide again before he chuckled breathily and adjusted his coat. "Yeah, it'd be awfully lonely," Naruto said quietly as he kept walking. Great, he'd made it awkward.

"Oh no…" Sasuke said quietly as the moment just got even more awkward.

"What?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"That's my brother's car," He said quietly.

"He can't be that bad," Naruto said with a frown.

"Have you met him?"

"Well, no," Naruto said.

"Okay, maybe he's not that bad," Sasuke said quietly. "But he's probably going to make you feel uncomfortable…"

"Sasuke, how much more uncomfortable do you think I can feel? Your parents seem really wonderful, but I kind of can't wait to catch the train home tomorrow," Naruto cleared his throat.

"You sure you don't want me to drive you?" Sasuke asked.

"It took us forever to get here in the snow, I'm a big boy Sasuke, I know how to buy a train ticket," He said with a smirk.

"Think we could stay out here for a bit longer?" Sasuke said.

Naruto stopped and looked at him before he laughed and he grabbed Sasuke's hand briefly. "I think if we stay out any longer we run the real risk of hypothermia," Naruto said before he grabbed Sasuke's lips in a kiss that lasted a few moments too long perhaps.

"Shit, don't do that. We have to stay two doors away from my parents," Sasuke muttered.

"I can be quiet," Naruto hummed.

"Quit joking," Sasuke said trying to think of anything else.

Naruto almost cackled when he threw his head back. "C'mon, nerd, better get inside and get this over with," he said.

"Fine," Sasuke rolled his eyes and followed Naruto into the house.

* * *

Naruto felt a massive amount of tension vanish from his body when they had returned from their walk, if you could even call it that. There was only a little lingering when they stepped inside the house. It was mostly quiet, save for a few mumbled voices.

"We're back!" Sasuke called out only to be answered by his mom answering them from the dining room. "Just give us a sec!"

"A sec?" Naruto asked.

"My dad will have a heart attack if we show up all damp," Sasuke said and ushered Naruto back toward his room.

"You just want to get me out of my clothes," Naruto huffed as the door closed.

"Shut up, Itachi could be anywhere," Sasuke muttered and revealed that he had grabbed a towel somewhere on the way to the room.

"Why would that matter?" Naruto said as he tugged at his shirt and pants with a heavy sigh. He had planned to wear these things the next day.

"Just trust me on this," Sasuke said as he walked over to Naruto and he dumped a towel on his head heavily.

"Ugh, Sasuke, I'm not afraid to hit you in your parent's house, remember how I told you I could totally kick your ass?" Naruto growled when his head dipped with the weight of the towel. They ended up in weird wrestling matches from time to time which more than once ended up turning into something completely different.

"I would pay you $500 if you could land a single hit," Sasuke snarked at him.

"You'd be a poor man Sasuke," Naruto said, but he could see the amusement in Sasuke's eyes when the other man finally adjusted the towel so Naruto could see again.

"I bet," he said as he began to towel off Naruto's hair. Naruto looked at him a moment and he breathed in deeply. He wasn't used to this overwhelming peace he felt with Sasuke. It was sometimes fleeting, but when they were on their own like this he felt indomitable. "Get dressed moron," Sasuke said.

"You're a butt," Naruto said annoyed and proceeded to do as told as Sasuke turned away with a chuckle.

-::0::-

They walked back in and Sasuke's parents were still sitting there finished with their plates, but they were lingering. It didn't take much to figure out why. Maybe they would have waited for Sasuke and he to return, but another man was sitting at the table in one of the vacant seats thwarted that theory. Naruto would bet all his money on it being Itachi. "I'm sorry about that," Naruto said quietly as he moved to sit down where his plate was waiting for him.

"Think nothing of it, I just hope it didn't get too cold," Mikoto said with a smile. "This is Sasuke's older brother, Itachi," She said gesturing to the other man.

Naruto turned to look at him finally and hi brows lifted. It was almost ridiculous how attractive one family could be, but more than that, Itachi commanded attention and it had absolutely nothing to do with his looks. "Itachi," He said his chin dipping as if he were trying to say the name right. "I'm Naruto," He said holding his hand out.

The man smiled, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes as he returned the handshake with an odd sense of gentle power. "Ah, so the imaginary fishcake is, in fact, real," he said.

"I'm sorry?" Naruto frowned as he looked over to Sasuke as he walked in the room.

"He's insane, that's what," Sasuke said as he sat down.

"Sasuke!" Mikoto said.

Sasuke looked at her and he sighed, "Sorry, mother."

"I'm not the one that needs apologizing to," She said.

"It's fine, mother. My baby brother just doesn't know how to express how much he missed me," Itachi said and Naruto didn't know if he was amused or not.

Sasuke snorted and he looked down at his plate and he began to eat without acknowledging him, at least not right away. "I think silence expresses it just fine."

"But you're speaking, aren't you?" Itachi said and Naruto could hear Sasuke's grip on his utensils tighten with a squeak.

Naruto had to fight not to smile at the words. It was weird, but seeing how easily Itachi pushed Sasuke's buttons was almost hilarious. "Well, I don't think I'm imaginary," Naruto said trying to divert the attention from Sasuke.

"No, I suppose not. I sincerely lamented for my little brother's well-being when he used to talk about fishcakes when he was younger. I suppose some would find it cute that he was so in love with them at such a young age," Itachi said, and Sasuke's hands were squeaking again. "You used to cause a lot of trouble, of course I hear you're still causing trouble, Naruto," He said.

"I hope you choke," Sasuke said just as Itachi made to take a bite and the man just smiled and Naruto felt a little uncomfortable.

"Sasuke, cut it out," Fugaku said this time, but Sasuke didn't even flinch.

"Used to?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"He means I punched him because he made fun of something I said about you when I was younger," Sasuke said.

"Punch is a strong word for it, Sasuke, you flailed," Itachi said.

"Must you two act like this all the time? It's been months since we've all been home together like this, you can be civil for two minutes, like you used to when Sasuke was still in high school," Mikoto said and Naruto found himself wondering what had changed.

"If memory serves me correct, Sasuke spent a lot of time suspended in high school," Itachi said and Sasuke breathed in deeply. "I joke of course, Sasuke, calm down," Itachi said.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow," Sasuke said.

"I couldn't wait to get back to you baby brother, I told myself I simply had to buy the next available flight home when I finished up my final exam," Itachi said. "Besides, I heard mother say something about you bringing someone home with you, I couldn't miss the chance to meet someone able to tame your clumsy heart."

If Naruto had to respond, he probably would have stammered at the comment. "You have two very interesting sons," Naruto said quietly.

"They're both a pain," Fugaku said quietly. "If only because of their smart mouths."

"I apologize, father," Itachi said, dipping his head before he began to fill the night with discussion on his schooling. The only thing that Naruto learned afterward was how intelligent Itachi was.

When everyone was finally finished Naruto stepped inside the kitchen while Sasuke headed down toward his room to finish unpacking the rest of his things. "Hey, let me help you with the dishes," Naruto said with a smile when he found Mikoto placing the leftovers away.

Mikoto looked as if she were about to protest when Itachi placed his hand on her back, much like Sasuke had when they arrived. "Go ahead, mother, go relax," He said with a small smile on his face. All the harsh words gone from his lips as he urged her out.

"Alright, Itachi will show you where things go," She said with a nod as she disappeared.

"I hear you're an artist," Itachi said calmly.

"I hear you're an asshole," Naruto said and he blinked, "Uh…Sasuke said you were in law school?" He mumbled in apology and Itachi simply laughed.

"My little brother is so touchy," He said as he started washing the dishes after handing Naruto a towel to dry.

"If all siblings act like you two, I'm surprised there aren't more people like Sasuke out there," Naruto mused.

"Oh, come now, I'm not that bad," Itachi hummed.

"Sure, sure," Naruto said. When he had first heard Itachi, it left him incredibly confused. Naruto often knew who was trustworthy and who wasn't, but Itachi had been a bit of a question mark. It took only a short amount of time with the man for another weird sense of comfort to wash over him.

"You of course know that we need to have a customary, hurt my baby brother and I'll hurt you talk, right?" Itachi said.

Naruto blinked and he looked down to the plate before he placed it up in the cupboard where Itachi had indicated when they had first started. "I have no intentions of hurting your baby brother," Naruto said, maybe a little too amused at Sasuke being referred to as a baby.

"Then we should have no troubles," Itachi said as he dried a utensil himself and he leaned over, trapping Naruto in the corner of the L shaped counter. His hair fell over his shoulder and fresh scented cologne wafted through the air.

"Do you mind?" Naruto said as he pressed back against the counter.

Itachi simply smirked as he placed the utensil in the drawer, "Sasuke just walked by," He said low in his throat. He lingered there, boxing Naruto in for a moment before slowly standing up. Naruto had almost forgotten Itachi was there as his head snapped to look toward the door to see nothing but Sasuke's foot before it disappeared.

"What are you playing at?" Naruto said with a growl.

Itachi chuckled, "I knew you weren't that quiet little thing that sat at the dinner table. I don't think Sasuke could put up with someone so docile," he said.

"You know Sasuke's going to be pissed with me now, right? You're an ass," Naruto huffed.

Itachi just smirked as he continued to wash the dishes. "I apologize, I find it too fun messing with Sasuke's things," he said.

"Thing?" Naruto deadpanned.

"Don't misunderstand, I just enjoy messing with Sasuke. It's usually just been his stuff, you're the first…significant other I've met," He said.

"Still doesn't make me a thing," Naruto muttered.

"Of course," Itachi said before he rested his hand on the counter and he looked down at Naruto. "Let me speak seriously for a moment."

"Real talk?"

"What?"

"Nothing," Naruto said and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Seriously now…My father is going to have a talk with you before you leave, and you're not going to enjoy it. You need to remember whatever it is you and Sasuke have more than anything he's going to say, understand?" Itachi said.

"I don't," Naruto said.

"He sees thing practically. Marrying my mother was practical, having children was practical and expected of him, love came after, he doesn't get that sometimes it comes first," He said.

"We've been together two months Itachi," Naruto said. Love was…it was too soon, wasn't it?

"Not the point," Itachi said, but his lip twitched before he answered.

"I think it was," Naruto frowned sensing Itachi's deception.

"Sasuke's been talking about you and thinking of you since he was a child. He's never had trouble making friends, but it seems you're the only one to make any real impact on him. I might not have known you were an actual person, but knowing that now means that anything you say or do is going to move mountains in his world, Naruto. Now let me say this again, hurt my baby brother, and you will be sorry…"

Naruto looked at him and he felt an odd weight that hadn't been there before, "You know, Sasuke doesn't think you care about him, I guess he was wrong," Naruto hadn't really been fooled. He remembered growing up how Sasuke always spoke about how Itachi never had time for him, how his father never had time. All Sasuke wanted was a little attention. All Sasuke's anger stemmed from the fact that the attention he was receiving now, was all wrapped up in some playful ruse he couldn't comprehend. "Maybe you should think about not hurting your baby brother," Naruto said before he dried his hands off and hung the towel in its designated spot before he stepped out of the kitchen.

When he found Sasuke he was back in his room. Naruto stepped side and he closed the door behind him and leaned on it. "Sasuke," he started.

"What the hell was going on in there?" Sasuke said with a frown.

Naruto felt a little angry that he couldn't at least be given the benefit of the doubt. "Your brother's a jerk, that's what," Naruto said quietly.

"What did he do?" Sasuke's attitude turned around immediately and Naruto's brow rose. It was that easy, if Naruto was a bad person he could probably exploit Sasuke's willingness to believe Itachi was evil.

"You know he's messing with you right?" Naruto said.

"Fucker…" Sasuke muttered.

Naruto was about to defend the man, but decided after how uncomfortably close Itachi had gotten to him, it might not have been the best idea. Instead he walked over to the bed and flopped down beside Sasuke. "Your dad doesn't like me," Naruto said.

"How do you figure that?" Sasuke asked.

"I've got a feeling," he shrugged before he tipped his head, "Oh, and Itachi might have said something."

"Okay, one, I can't tell if my father likes me, and two, you can't trust anything that comes out of Itachi's mouth," Sasuke said.

"I dunno…Either way, I'm exhausted. Too bad, I totally would have loved to ruin this bed," Naruto joked as he turned over.

"Don't sleep in your clothes, did you even brush your teeth?" Sasuke muttered.

"I'll get to it, lemme alone I've had enough Uchiha lectures today," he waved his hand right in Sasuke's face.

"I guess we can be hard to handle," Sasuke said as he laid back on the bed and placed the book he was reading off onto the stand.

Naruto turned his head to look at Sasuke and he reached out and pushed Sasuke's hair back. "You need a haircut," he said.

"My mom said the same thing…" Sasuke frowned.

Naruto chuckled to himself before he decided to get back up, "Bathroom, where is this place of teeth bushing and pissing, yeah?"

Sasuke's face scrunched in distaste and with a foot on Naruto's back he shoved him off the bed, "Gross, it's just across the hall, moron."

"Ow, you're a jerk," Naruto muttered as he rubbed his backside.

There was a knock on the door hardly a second after, "Is everything alright in there?" it was Sasuke's mother.

"Yeah, Naruto is just being a dumbass," Sasuke called out.

"I am not jerk face! You know that's the second time I've fallen on my ass today, both times were your fault!" Naruto growled out and Sasuke just smirked.

"I see…" there was a hint of amusement in her voice. "I'll see you in the morning," she said.

"You just yelled at me sort of in front of my mother," Sasuke said, smirk still spread wide across his face.

"You deserved it! Look at this" Naruto said flicking Sasuke's foot before he stood up and yanked his pants down enough to reveal his backside. Really, he had no idea if there was a bruise there or not, but he wasn't letting Sasuke off that easily, "See this precious thing? It's all bruised up because of you, and I will get you back for it!" He said and went to his bag to grab some of his things before stepping out of the room well aware that Sasuke was chuckling under his breath.

When he stepped out of the room he glanced both ways before dashed across the hall into the bathroom. When he finished he exited and was about to head back into Sasuke's room when he saw Fugaku standing at the end of the hall. When their eyes met the older man beckoned him over and Naruto's stomach dropped. He was done, he couldn't handle any more stress. He was seriously beginning to regret not staying home. He usually didn't have issues doing what Sasuke wanted, but this was proving to be too much. "Yes?" He said when he reached the end of the hall.

"Walk with me," He said in his deep voice and headed toward the bedroom. He had sincerely hoped that Itachi would have been wrong.

"Sure," He said quietly.

"Take a seat," He said once they reached the living room, so Naruto did. He sat at the edge of one of the chairs and he kept his hands on his knees. "I'm going to be frank with you, Naruto. I'm sure you're a nice boy, but I don't think I'm comfortable with your involvement with my son."

"Sir?" Naruto said quietly as much as he hated the word. He knew this had something to do with the incident at dinner.

"Don't misunderstand," that seemed to be a very popular phrase in the house, "but I'm sensing a pattern between yourself and Sasuke. He's spoken with me a few times about you while growing up, and quite honestly you hold a fair amount of influence on my son, too much if you ask me. I'm not sure what your living situation was growing up, but your behaviour tonight shows that whatever it was affected you greatly."

Naruto was taken aback by all the things Fugaku was saying. His fingers balled on his knees and he let out a breath, "That's a rather large speculation on your part, isn't it?"

"I've been in law enforcement for a long time Naruto, I've seen similar behaviours countless times in my younger years. If I'm mistaken I apologize, but I think we both know that I'm not," he said. "It's clear on your face," he said.

Naruto's lip twitched and he felt himself getting angry. "What does my childhood have to do with Sasuke and me?" the scars, he'd seen the scars…it wasn't like they weren't obvious, but people always made wild accusations about them. He wished that he could rub them away.

"I don't know what he has in his head about you, but I don't need my son running around after you, trying to save you like he did tonight. It's not healthy for him, and you need to find help for yourself and not rely on my son," Fugaku said.

"I've never relied on anyone in my entire life," Naruto said defensively, he never really had the option.

"There is also the matter of fact that when you two were in high school, something you did prompted Sasuke to run away. I had to network my way through other police departments to arrest and detain my son before something happened to him," he said.

Naruto blinked and he looked over his shoulder toward the hall. He recalled a vague dream from when he was younger, much younger, of a teenage Sasuke walking along the road with a bag slung over his shoulder, thumb extended out toward the highway. "I didn't do anything…" Naruto said quietly, wondering what the hell Sasuke would run away for. "Don't you think you should be talking to Sasuke about this?"

"I think you know my son well enough that he wouldn't listen to a word I say. As his father, I am asking you to do what's best for Sasuke's life, since he won't do it for himself," Fugaku said adjusting his shirt as he made to stand up.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Naruto said, his throat dry as he moved to stand.

"It's nothing personal, you seem like a nice young man," Fugaku said quietly before left the room. "Have a good sleep."

Naruto sat in the chair for a moment longer. He looked around the living area, everything seemed to be in place. Even the family photos seemed staged, but Naruto could sense the real concern the entire family had for Sasuke. He was glad that Sasuke had people that loved him so much. He felt an emotional pinch at the back of his senses and ran his hands over his face before he leaned back on the couch. He didn't get how both Sasuke's father and brother could both tell him to do what was best for Sasuke, but seemingly not mean the same things. Itachi didn't really define what he meant, but he made it clear he didn't agree with what his father was going to say. He finally stood and headed back to the room, making sure to turn the lights off on his way there since everyone had already gone to their respective rooms. He pushed the door to Sasuke's room only to find him reading his books again.

"You took rather long," Sasuke said.

"Did I?" Naruto said as he crawled over Sasuke to flop against the bed next to the wall.

"What did you get up to?" Sasuke asked.

"Nothing," Naruto said and Sasuke turned to look at him.

"You look tired," He said.

"Long day," Naruto shrugged as he wiggled to get under the covers and closed his eyes.

"I guess it has been, you sure you want to head back so early? We could go out and do some things tomorrow," Sasuke offered.

"I dunno if that'd be a good idea," Naruto said. "Did you run away from home when you were a kid?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"What?" Sasuke said and he put the book down, probably for good this time.

"Did you run away…I mean, I dreamt it once, but your dad said something just now," Naruto said.

"What did he say?" Sasuke said.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and he bit the inside of his cheek as he thought. He didn't know what the best thing for Sasuke was…it could be either sides of the argument and Naruto didn't know which one Sasuke would be better off with. "I don't know, he blames me for it though," Naruto said quietly.

Sasuke cursed under his breath, "Of course he'd pick now to get involved in my life," Sasuke muttered as he sat up and leaned over Naruto. "Yeah, I did…I had some sense of where you might have been, and I wanted to find you," Sasuke said.

Naruto's eyes widened and he thought back and thanked whoever the fuck was out there that Sasuke didn't find him. He wasn't ready for Sasuke back then. "That's dumb," Naruto said.

"I'd do it again, what else did he say?" Sasuke sounded angry.

"Dunno…" Naruto shrugged.

"Quit fucking around Naruto," Sasuke said and Naruto reached up and slapped Sasuke lightly on the forehead.

"Calm down, jerk," He muttered as he turned toward the wall.

"Sorry," he said as he laid back down judging from how the mattress moved.

"He thinks I'm trouble," Naruto shrugged.

"That's what he said?"

"More or less," Naruto shrugged.

"Don't listen to him," Sasuke said as if it were that easy.

Naruto was quiet and he tried to adjust the covers just a little more to get comfortable when he felt Sasuke's presence over him. "Naruto…I mean it, don't listen to him," he said firmly.

Naruto looked up at him and his lip twitched, "Sasuke, we're fine," He said calmly.

"Good," Sasuke said as he rested back down on the bed.

Naruto watched Sasuke as he settled down onto his pillow and got comfortable. He didn't know how to go about this, he really wished he had prepared for this trip. He was way too impulsive sometimes. "Sasuke?"

"Hm?" Sasuke turned to face away from him and Naruto reached out and began to draw small patterns on his back.

"Your brother told me he'd gut me if I ever hurt you," Naruto said.

Sasuke snorted, "My brother would never use those words, try again," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto smiled quietly and remembered brief dreams of Sasuke as a child. He idolized Itachi so much, to see the complete opposite was still weird to him after a life time full of expectations on what Sasuke would be like if he were real. "Fine, he just said he'd hurt me if I hurt is poor bitty baby brother," Naruto grinned.

"I feel like you're making fun of me, but I believe it," Sasuke said.

Naruto laughed and he decided to get more comfortable as well with a long stretch. "Kick me in your sleep Sasuke, and I'm going to kick you back," He muttered.

"Who pushed who off of whose bed the other week?" Sasuke muttered.

"Details, who needs them? Do it and you're done," he said poking at Sasuke's side and Sasuke simply slapped at his hand.

"Moron," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto smiled and decided to close his eyes. "Night," He said quietly before letting himself fall asleep.

* * *

" _I'm sorry child," Orochimaru's hands were on his face again…it was always the face, he hated it so fucking much. Naruto decided to try and be indifferent because it didn't matter what he said, he'd still get in trouble. At least this way he wouldn't give Orochimaru the satisfaction of forgiveness._

" _You've said," Naruto whispered quietly._

" _Don't be that way…" Orochimaru sounded upset, but he was a snake and couldn't be trusted. Naruto wanted nothing to do with any part of him, not by this point._

" _I'm not being anything," it was one of those rare times when he didn't have to address him as sir, or even address him at all._

" _It won't happen again, how could I mar something so perfect," he murmured and pressed a kiss into his mouth. Naruto had to fight to remain still. This awkward, sickening behaviour was so damn hard to accept. There was a second kiss, "Hmm?" it was like he expected an answer…like he expected Naruto to believe him when one moment he was telling Naruto he was worthless, that nobody wanted him and that he was being done a favour by being taken in by the pervert then the next he was whispering lies of some distorted sort of love._

" _I don't know…" he whispered softly, breaking just a little as the man's mouth trailed down his neck. He hadn't done much more than this, but every time Orochimaru did something painful, he always seemed to do even more, and when Naruto excelled at anything he did even worse._

_The man's fingers brushed over the ugly splint on his hand and the man shook his head and pet his hair back with a clammy hand. "I'm sorry," He murmured into the spot before his ear._

_Naruto's eyes closed and he thought about why he was here, why he chose to stay, why he didn't know how to walk out the door and tell someone, tell anyone. Every damned time he tried, every single time he worked out the right words to freedom he would open his mouth and nothing would fall from his lips there was nothing he could do that would convince them to fall. His eyes closed tight as the man's hands caressed his thighs, and the bite of terror pinched behind his sinuses, and a cold tear squeezed from beneath his lashes, "I don't know…" he whispered._

-::0::-

Sasuke's eyes snapped open on the strangled sound of his breath. He lurched forward and grasped the edge of the bed and stared into the darkness of his room. His fingers were shaking as he gripped at the covers tightly, he couldn't seem to still them. It was only a short moment of confusion before he reached behind him and he felt Naruto's arm on his side. He grasped it gently and he turned to look at the other man. His hand moved to the side of his face and he tried his best not to wake him…if it was just him dreaming, maybe it was okay…but it didn't make him want to lay down and close his eyes. There were fewer and fewer things that could convince him to sleep it seemed.

It was hard watching Naruto sometimes, knowing what happened. There was some fucked up logic in his head that didn't let him separate the Naruto he had known from the one he finally had. Knowing that he had a strong desire for the blonde was almost torture in knowing that at one point, the territory that was supposed to be his had been taken by another. It wasn't even some fucked up tarnished image that stilled Sasuke's hand, that tried to still this desire, this feeling, whatever this was…it was the fact that he didn't want to stir the past up. He didn't want to be the reason that Naruto's eyes flared in panic. He knew if he avoided it, it would do the same. He didn't know how to function anymore.

Naruto's snore pulled him from his thoughts and gently combing his hair back Sasuke slid out of bed as gently as he could. He couldn't be in here anymore than he felt he could leave. The only thing that sent Sasuke to the kitchen was that he was convinced it might clear his head. He walked to the fridge quietly and grabbing a glass he filled it with water from the door. He stared at the leftovers on the shelves and gripped the glass until his fingers squeaked against it. The noise was what reminded him to drink, and the cool sensation sliding down his throat only eased him a little.

"You're up late," he heard a deep voice. Turning revealed that it was his father and he grew even angrier.

"You're up in my business so early," Sasuke grumbled as he took another long drink.

"He's spoken to you, hasn't he?" his father said with a grim look on his face as he flicked the light on.

"Not in so many words. Would it fucking kill you to try?" Sasuke said.

"We don't use that language in this house, Sasuke," he said sharply.

"I didn't think we accepted sabotage and betrayal in this house either," Sasuke said.

"Fair enough now close the door," he ordered and Sasuke let the fridge door shut with the hiss of the seal.

"What I don't understand is that he's been killing himself for behaving the way that he does, and it's not his fault, not a damn bit of it is his fault. You have to see that, you've seen it before; I know you have, yet you can't come to me instead?" Sasuke said before he pushed his hair back, Naruto was right, he did need a trim.

"I understand you're angry with me, Sasuke," his father was being amazingly lenient with him.

"I don't think that even begins to scrape the surface of what I'm feeling towards you right now," Sasuke said.

"But you have to realize what my options are," he said.

"You mean like the option to be a civil person meeting another?" Sasuke said.

"I have made every decision in my life for you Sasuke. You don't have children, so you don't understand what it's like to be put in positions to look out for their wellbeing. I know the path you're going to go down with that boy, and it's going to ruin everything I tried to build for you. I gave you everything, I tried to give you the best and most normal childhood I could so you could become successful and so that you could be safe," he said.

Sasuke shook his head and his jaw tensed, "I don't want to be normal," He said, his voice losing a little of its edge from lack of sleep. "I'm not normal," he shook his head. This was probably the closest he'd ever be to telling anyone how fucked up he really was.

"You're not going to be if you continue to see him," he said and he reached forward to grasp Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke's shoulder slackened and allowed his father's hand to slide off and he shook his head. "You should apologize, he's stronger than you could ever hope to be," Sasuke said icily.

"He is," his father said, taking Sasuke by surprise. "Are you capable of being that strong Sasuke? What happens when you're ten years down the line putting up with dysfunctional behaviour and you decide you can't do it anymore? You'll leave, you'll be alone, and you're going to rip out the only support he has."

"I hate to be so cliché, but you don't know me," Sasuke said quietly.

"I know you well enough to know that if I forced you to choose a side, that you wouldn't choose us," his father said, and if Sasuke tried he might have heard emotion there.

Sasuke stared at his father and he looked around the kitchen, the same kitchen that had been there when he was a child. He remembered when he and Itachi used to help their mother bake, and he remembered watching as his father stared at the plate of treats Sasuke brought him and simply look away. "So you want him to choose for me…" Sasuke said. His father didn't say anything, the only thing that could be heard was the ratting of the fridge and Sasuke shook his head. "You're vile," he said quietly.

"You don't deserve the heartbreak you're going to feel, Sasuke," he tried.

Sasuke had already felt heartbreak, probably one of the worst kinds of heartbreak, "He deserves more than I could ever give him," Sasuke said and he headed for the door.

"That pedestal you have him on is only going to hurt you both," he tried to grab Sasuke's arm and Sasuke evaded it.

"I thought you might want to know that I've found an apartment. I'll be fully moved out by the end of the month," Sasuke said firmly before heading back to his bedroom, his father didn't follow. He stood inside the door after he shut it and he just breathed. It was difficult…there was some part of his life and his dreams that had endured heartbreak before. Sometimes he woke and he could feel this maddening anger inside of him, this insane emptiness like someone had robbed him of everything. Sometimes he felt that resentment toward his brother for things that made absolutely no sense. The weight of knowing what had happened to Naruto in this life time, the weight of observing these things in fragments was just as heavy as the potential of walking home to genocide. He walked over to the bed and he sat down and watched Naruto's sleeping face. He also knew the look of heartbreak on Naruto's face as he continuously tried to dig this other Sasuke out from beneath the weight of the world and he knew the heartbreak on Naruto's face when he failed. Sasuke wasn't the same as whatever world he dreamt of, they dreamt of, he needed to make it through this darkness and he needed to pull Naruto through alongside him. Maybe it was his turn to save Naruto in the way that Naruto had saved Sasuke. Maybe the dreams weren't as nonsensical as Naruto thought they were.

"Sasuke?" Naruto's sleep stricken voice sounded as he rolled over to look at Sasuke while rubbing his eyes.

"Shh…" Sasuke murmured quietly and he moved to lay down, throwing his arm over Naruto's side. "I didn't mean to wake you," he said quietly.

"s'okay," He whispered and he relaxed into the embrace. A few weeks ago, Sasuke pressed against Naruto's back would have been met with nothing but tension. This was nice.

"I've got you," Sasuke said quietly.

"What a funny thing to say," Naruto murmured before his breathing slipped back into the disruptive snore Sasuke had been growing accustomed to.

"I've got you…" He murmured before closing his eyes.

TBC...

 

OddlyEnded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might be a while for chapter 6. I have it in progress, but I need to seriously iron out my timeline. I had it loosely done, but I need to narrow it down because this story is very difficult to write. 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and let me know what you think~


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